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Bacon's Essays 



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INTRODUCTION. 

Francis Bacon, whose name stands next after 
Shakespeare's in the brilliant period of Elizabeth and 
the first James, was the younger of two sons born in 
second marriage to Sir Nicholas Bacon, a famous 
lawyer and statesman, who was keeper of the Great 
Seal from the accession of Queen Elizabeth till his 
own death in 1579. The date of his birth was the 
22d January, 1561, and he was therefore some three 
years Shakespeare's senior. Educated during his boy- 
hood under the immediate direction of his mother, 
a member of a family prominent in the Protestant 
cause, and herself a woman of stern and uncom- 
promising piety, young Bacon early saw something of 
life in the world's high places, and even by his wit and 
sagacity attracted the special attention of the Queen, 
who was wont jestingly to salute him as her "young 
Lord Keeper." At the age of twelve, he entered 
Trinity College, Cambridge, where he remained till 
1575. It was during this period, we are told by his 
first biographer, that boy as he still was, he already 
became dissatisfied with the current Aristotelian phi- 
losophy, as " strong for disputations and contentions," 
but " barren of the productions of works for the bene- 
fit of the life of man." Sir Nicholas destined the 



VI INTR OD UC TION, 

wonderful youth for statesmanship, and, as a fitting 
preparation, sent him to Paris with Sir Amyas Paulet, 
ambassador to France. Recalled in 1579, on his 
father's death, which was a serious blow to his for- 
tunes, and left him with only a younger son's " narrow 
portion," he turned to the study of law, and was called 
to the bar in 1582. His appointment as Bencher of 
Gray's Inn, in 1586, and as Queen's Counsel in 1589, 
mark stages in a steady professional progress. 

Meanwhile, absorbing as his legal pursuits must 
have been. Bacon had entered the field of politics, 
and in the House of Commons his remarkable ora- 
torical powers presently obtained their first general 
recognition. The description of his public speaking 
left us by a very shrewd observer, though evidently 
referring in the main to the manner of his court- 
advocacy, clearly enough indicates the general force 
of his address, and his extraordinary influence over 
his auditors. " No man," wrote Ben Jonson, " ever 
spake more neatly, more pressly, more weightily, or 
suffered less emptiness, less idleness, in what he 
uttered. . . . His hearers could not cough, or look 
aside from him without loss. He commanded when 
he spoke, and had his judges angry and pleased at his 
devotion. . . . The fear of every man that heard 
him was lest he should make an end." 

For a time, notwithstanding the miscarriage of vari- 
ous ambitions, things prospered with him ; though 
unfortunately his worldly success was from the outset 
bound up with the persistent practice of the arts of 
the place-seeker and the time-server. He began by 



IN TR on UC TION. Vll 

seeking political promotion through the influence of 
his maternal uncle, the powerful Lord Burghley ; and 
when convinced that nothing was to be gained in this 
direction, he went over to the party of Burghley's 
rival, the Earl of Essex. That nobleman did what 
he could for his protege, and failing to obtain any one 
of several desirable offices for him, gave him a grant 
of land at Twickenham, which he afterwards sold for 
^1800 — or, roughly speaking, $60,000, at the present 
value of money. Then presently came the earFs fall 
from power, and subsequent open rebellion against 
the Queen. Over what followed, were it possible to 
do so, the biographer of Bacon would willingly draw 
the veil. He took an active part in the proceedings 
against his former friend and benefactor; did his 
utmost to get him condemned ; and after his execu- 
tion, undertook the official drafting of the charges 
against him. After Elizabeth's death, Bacon found 
it desirable to publish an explanation of his conduct, 
in which he contended that duty to the State must 
have preference over the demands of private friend- 
ship ; but the best that can be said of this document, 
it is to be feared, is that it shows that Bacon's con- 
science was ill at ease. Apologists have not been 
wanting ; and it may be conceded to them that a full 
survey of the facts tends to mitigate the first severity 
of our judgment. Yet the incident has left a stain on 
Bacon's memory which no amount of special plead- 
ing will succeed in wiping away. 

Two years after the execution of Essex, Elizabeth 
died, and under James I. Bacon's prosperity increased. 



Vlli INTR OD UC TION. 

He sought and won the new king's favor by profuse 
professions of loyalty and by practical services ; was 
knighted in 1603; obtained a lucrative clerkship in 
the Star Chamber (the reversion of which had been 
granted him many years before) in 1608; was made 
Attorney-General in 1613, Privy Councillor in 1616, 
Lord Keeper in 1617, and Lord Chancellor in 1618; 
in this last year was raised to the peerage as Lord 
Verulam, and in 162 1 was created Viscount St. Albans. 
The record is surely one of magnificent achievement. 
It is painful to have to add that it has its dark under- 
side. Bacon undoubtedly had high ideals and noble 
aspirations ; in practice, unfortunately, he stooped 
constantly to sordidness and venality. As Attorney- 
General he was guilty more than once of abusing the 
prerogatives of his great position ; as Lord Chan- 
cellor his conduct fell short of strict judicial honor. 
The crash in his life came in 1621, when he was 
impeached before the House of Lords, on various 
charges of bribery and official malpractice. He 
attempted no defence, and was sentenced to a fine of 
;^ 40,000, imprisonment during the King's pleasure, 
and banishment from Parliament and Court. He was, 
however, released from the Tower almost immediately, 
and pardoned, though still denied access to the royal 
presence. He thereupon retired to his own estate, and 
devoted himself, during the few years that remained 
to him, to scholarly pursuits. He died, deep in debt, 
on the 9th April, 1626, from complications arising 
from a cold caught while he was making a scientific 
experiment. 



INTR OD UC TION. IX 

It would be difficult under any conditions, where 
space is limited it is impossible, to do justice to a 
character so complex and enigmatical as Bacon's. 
Pope's often-quoted line depicting him as the " wisest, 
brightest, meanest of mankind," presents us with a 
monstrous compound of intellectual supremacy and 
moral depravity; in Macaulay's famous essay the 
swift sketch is expanded into an elaborate portrait, in 
which the genius of the man is painted in the most 
brilliant colors on the palette, the man himself in the 
very darkest. Pope and Macaulay together are prob- 
ably in the main responsible for the antipathy in which 
Bacon is popularly held — an antipathy which fuller 
knowledge of the individual and his times happily 
tends in some degree to modify. The student of 
Bacon would like to be able to say more than this. 
Yet, greatly as we should desire to see cleared once 
and for all the fame of one who has such enduring 
claims upon the world's gratitude and esteem, we 
must not lower even for him the standards by which 
character and conduct are to be measured. Magnifi- 
cent as were his powers and equipment, splendid as 
were his purposes when, taking, in his own proud 
phrase, all knowledge for his province, he set out to 
benefit mankind by opening the way to truth, elements 
of weakness and baseness were deeply interwoven 
with the gigantic strength of his nature. His life, as 
has been said, was really a double one : — the life of 
the high-souled enthusiast for science, fired by the 
noble ambition of accomplishing something " for the 
glory of the Creator and the relief of man's estate " ; 



X INTRODUCTION. 

and the life of the worldling and the self-seeker, eager 
for wealth and place, and little scrupulous concerning 
the means by which they were to be obtained. Thus 
the appalling tragedy of his entire career was the trag- 
edy of a house divided against itself. At bottom, 
the fatal defect in his character seems to have been 
connected with a radical deficiency on the emotional 
side. He was too purely intellectual, too willing to live 
wholly and solely by the dry light of reason ; and 
thus his being was never thrilled and warmed by 
those generous passions which lift men above the 
sordid things of the hour. Yet with all his failures 
and shortcomings in the practical conduct of life, he 
at least remained true to the high principles which 
governed his strenuous activities in philosophy and 
letters. He started out in life with certain great 
objects before him, and from the intellectual pathway 
he had marked out for himself he never so much as 
swerved. 

The foregoing sketch, though but the briefest sum- 
mary, will suffice to show that Bacon's was a singularly 
active and eventful life. It is not the least wonderful 
thing about this wonderful man that, with so large a 
part of his time and energy preoccupied by public 
business, he should have found opportunity for the 
production of those voluminous and weighty works, 
by virtue of which he has taken his place definitely 
among the world's greatest thinkers. It must be 
remembered, however, that no matter how much of 
himself he chose to give year by year to law and 
politics, his true bias was toward science and philos- 



INTR OD UCTION. XI 

ophy. Early in his career he wrote to Lord Burgh- 
ley : " I confess that I have as vast contemplative 
ends, as I have moderate civil ends ; ") and if the 
latter portion of this confession strikes us as being 
of doubtful accuracy, there is no question that the 
" vast contemplative ends " represented throughout 
the really vital interests of his life. Upon this mat- 
ter he speaks even more clearly in the original dedi- 
cation of the Essays to his brother Anthony, whom 
ill-health kept out of public affairs : " I assure you 
I sometimes wish your infirmities translated upon 
myself, that her Majesty might have the service of so 
active and able a mind ; and that I might be, with 
excuse, confined to those contemplations and studies 
for which I am fittest."' As Bacon viewed his own 
life, it is evident what he considered its central and 
abiding purposes, far and constantly as other interests 
compelled him to put these from his mind. 

As they stand, then, his numerous and varied vol- 
umes with all their range of learning and depth of 
thought, must be regarded as the occupation, first 
of the leisure which he managed to make for himself 
in the turmoil of an active career, and then of that 
which was forced upon him after his fall. They 
separate themselves naturally into three general divi- 
sions — the professional ; the scientific, and philosoph- 
ical ; and the historic and literary. Of all these, it is 
the scientific and philosophical works which have the 
largest claim upon attention ; not at all, of course, 
because they are now the most interesting or instruc- 
tive in themselves, but because by them Bacon marked 



xii INTR OD UC TION. 

an epoch and opened a fresh chapter in thought. The 
method which he set himself to teach his contempo- 
raries was not, indeed, wholly novel or untried ; for 
Bacon, like other great iniators, had his forerunners 
and teachers. But the glory of having defined it, 
established it, forced it home, belongs entirely to 
him. Before his time, thinkers had been content to 
build their philosophical systems out of their own 
ideas and the traditions of the ancients ; they had 
rested in authority ; they had ignored nature, or, at 
best, been in the habit of rushing from a few scattered 
facts picked up here and there to hasty generalizations 
about the universe and its laws. Bacon showed that 
truth is not to be found in this way, but that to reach 
it, we must throw off the yoke of tradition, regard 
ourselves in all humility as the servants and inter- 
preters of nature ; observe patiently and warily ; 
gather our data together through long and faithful 
study ; and only when we have laid the foundations 
of fact strong and deep, attempt to raise thereupon 
the superstructure of our theories. This, put as 
simply and as briefly as possible, is what is meant by 
Bacon's inductive method. In place of guess-work, 
rash conjecture, random speculation, preconceived or 
inherited notions about things, he formulated the prin- 
ciples of rigid, independent observation, and the close 
and constant cross-examination of nature itself. In 
doing this, he exposed the inadequacy of the processes 
of the schoolroom, and became the originator of the 
modern scientific method. His position in the his- 
tory of thought, then, is that of the opener of a new 



INTRODUCTION. xiii 

and fruitful way ; and even though he failed to make 
effective use of his principles in his own work — even 
though his individual contributions to positive knowl- 
edge were few and relatively unimportant, his influ- 
ence upon others and in after times was none the less 
far-reaching and profound. As he himself puts it, in 
characteristic phrase, he " rang the bell which called 
the other wits together." For this reason he is revered 
as one of the great masters of " those who know." 

Thus much every one should understand about 
Bacon's historic position. But while most of us may 
be contented to gather what we may at second hand 
concerning his scientific and philosophical achieve- 
ments, there is one portion of his writings with which 
we must become personally acquainted. This is the 
little volume containing his Essays. Even in his own 
day these were, as he himself tells us, the " most 
current" of his works, "for that, as it seems," he 
explains, unlike his more elaborate and special 
treatises, "they come home to men's business and 
bosoms " ; and since then, they have been something 
more than popular. They have been commonly 
adjudged a place among the classics of the English 
tongue. 

As Bacon's literary work as a whole, represents, as 
we have seen, the leisure energies of an extremely 
busy life, so the Essays in their turn are the produc- 
tions of a margin of that leisure. They were written, 
according to his own statement, as a relief from his 
severer studies, though in this case the pastime of the 
idle hour was fed by the richest results of thought and 



XIV INTR OD UC TION. 

experience. As first published in 1597, they were but 
ten in number, but the original little volume contained 
a dozen Latin meditations on religious topics {Medi- 
tationes Sacrce), out of sundry of which other essays 
were presently made. In the successive editions of 
1598, 1604, 1606, and 1 61 2, fresh essays were added 
to the first ten, which were themselves enlarged by 
amplification of subject, quotation, and illustration, 
until, in the edition of 1625, they reached their final 
form and full number of fifty-eight. 

In taking up the Essays it is important to empha- 
size the way in which they were put together. In the 
first instance they represented a kind of note-book, in 
which a man of extraordinary shrewdness, insight, and 
learning registered his observations and experiences, 
his thoughts and judgments ; and even as we now 
have them, they still partake largely of this incidental 
and disjointed character. In a letter to the Prince of 
Wales, intended as dedication to the edition of 1612, 
Bacon himself called them " dispersed meditations," 
and again spoke of them as " brief notes, set down 
rather significantly than anxiously." It must not be 
forgotten that the word essay was used by Bacon in 
its strict original sense — a sense quite different from 
that which it has since come to bear. To-day, as for 
a long time past, the word is currently employed to 
define a composition upon ' some particular topic 
which, while less full and methodical than a regular 
treatise, is still marked by comprehensiveness and 
elaboration: as the essays of Macaulay, Matthew 
Arnold, Herbert Spencer. But by essay Bacon meant, 



INTR OD UC TIONs XV 

not such a thorough and exhaustive handling of a 
subject, but a kind of first trial of it, like the assay of 
a metal — an effort flung out toward the considera- 
tion of a question where systematic discussion of it 
was, for any reason, not attempted. Bacon's Essays 
are essays within this exact meaning of the word. 
Essential thoughts are set down as they occur ; the 
expression of them is made as clear and strong as 
possible. But little regard is paid to the sequence 
or evolution of ideas ; and set analysis and formal 
development of the theme in hand are not to be 
looked for. 

For this reason the attention of the student of the 
Essays will naturally and properly be arrested, in the 
first place, by the astonishing weight and pregnancy 
of their thought. There is probably no book in all 
the world's treasury of literature, which says so much 
in so small a compass. Every page is freighted with 
the amassed wisdom of observation and knowledge ; 
every sentence is compact of experience, reflection, 
judgment. Turn whither we will, and whatever may 
be the subject immediately under consideration, we 
find ourselves in communion with a thinker of rarest 
sagacity and insight, who has seen and touched the 
world at many points, who brings to life the keenest 
powers of intellect, whose most trivial word goes 
deep and far. The things of which Bacon dis- 
courses are often familiar as daily life itself, yet 
what he says about them never seems trite ; and 
even when his sentence contains only something 
we have met with in another writer or thought out 



xvi INTRODUCTION. 

for ourselves, he still makes us pause upon it, and 
by some dexterous turn contrives to give to what 
might appear a truism a new reach and suggestive- 
ness. Open the book anywhere, and note what 
catches the eye — take, for example, the pages which 
are devoted to such well-worn commonplaces of the 
moralists as Truth, or Death, or Adversity. Any one 
of these essays might be read through, so far as the 
mere reading of the words is concerned, in a very few 
minutes. But to read it to make it our own — we 
very soon find that that is another thing altogether. 
Bacon's economy of diction allows hardly a super- 
fluous phrase, and thus every sentence has to be 
pressed upon for its absolute value. Jonson, we 
remember, speaking of the man's oratory, told us 
that his hearers could not look aside from him with- 
out loss. This same concentrated attention the reader 
must bring to the Essays if he would make himself 
master of their contents. 

In speaking of the matter of the Essays, we have 
touched upon the question of their manner or style, 
and we have done so unavoidably, since, as the stu- 
dent will readily perceive for himself, the value of what 
Bacon says depends to a very large extent upon the 
form in which he says it. This is attested by the fact 
that we do not remember simply the ideas conveyed, 
the reflections recorded by him ; the phases themselves 
cling to us. We have described the Essays as, in the 
first instance, a sort of note-book, gradually filled with 
thoughts on many subjects, set down on their occur- 
rence. But we must be careful not to be misled by 



INTR OD UC TION. xvii 

this conception of their evolution. The idea of a 
memorandum-book, of a tablet for occasional jottings, 
carries with it the notion of hastiness of expression, 
even of carelessness. The thought is everything ; 
provided that this is embodied in words that are plain 
and clear, the technical element of style may be dis- 
regarded. Now, nothing can be further from the 
truth about the Essays than the often-repeated state- 
ment that they are merely collections of apophthegms, 
left as it were in the rough. In reality, the high 
finish of their style is no less remarkable than the 
extraordinary richness of their subject-matter. For 
Bacon was not only a great thinker; he was an 
accomplished master in the art of expression, and the 
evidences of supreme literary skill are everywhere 
conspicuous. Only, since the organization and devel- 
opment of thought were negatived by the very plan 
of these little compositions, such skill is here to be 
looked for mainly in the separate sentences them- 
selves, which are models of epigrammatic terseness, 
point, freshness, and precision. 

" In the composing of his books,'' says Bacon's first 
biographer, Dr. Rawley, " he did rather drive at a 
masculine and clear expression than at any fineness 
Or affectation of phrases, and would often ask if the 
meaning was expressed plainly enough ; as being one 
that accounted words to be but subservient or minis- 
terial to matter, .and not the principal." And Bacon 
himself pronounced the study of words instead of 
matter " the first distemper of learning." From these 
statements, we might have expected his own style to 



XVlll INTR OD UC TION, 

be one of mathematical dryness and baldness, as well 
as mathematical accuracy. But any page of the 
Essays will show us how carefully Bacon cultivated 
the rhetorical art. Ornate, ingenious, highly-colored, 
his diction is marked by the well-defined character- 
istics of an age which loved cunningly-wrought 
phrases and novel turns of speech. Rarely equalled 
in its power of condensation, it is still touched by 
many of the mannerisms of that euphuism which was 
a fashion during the writer^s youth ; and it unites 
with all its vigor and virility the Elizabethan fond- 
ness for striking image and quaint analogy, metaphor, 
allusion, quotation. 

Thus much has been said to indicate some of the 
salient features of the Essays and the sources of their 
permanent interest and value. Their limitations and 
deficiencies, which are those of the writer's own genius 
and character, the reader will very soon find out for 
himself. Eminently sound, practical, utilitarian, they 
deal with the concrete world of daily facts, problems, 
relationships, at first hand, and from the standpoint of 
unflinching common-sense ; they offer us counsels for 
guidance in which the keen observation of the expert 
living among men blends with the ripe judgment of 
the student who has pondered the complexities 
of human motive and action in the seclusion of his 
closet. But we miss in them the spiritual note, the 
ardor of the idealist, the revealing power of the 
seer. Their morality rarely takes us above the plane 
of a highly enlightened self-interest ; their wisdom is 
for the most part the wisdom of the world. Bacon's 



INTR OB UC TION. xix 

teachings will help us much ; but we must not rest in 
them. We must supplement them with those of other 
masters whose pages not only illuminate, but likewise 
quicken, inspire, touch the heart. 

A word of practical advice may be added for the 
benefit of those who, having heard and read about 
the Essays, may now take them up for personal study. 
No one, no young reader especially, is likely to gain 
more than a faint idea of their true and lasting value 
on a first or second perusal. But it is not, therefore, 
necessary to be disappointed or discouraged. They 
must be read and re-read ; slowly, attentively ; they 
must be thought over and absorbed; they must, as 
Bacon himself would put it, be " chewed and digested." 
Above all, must we hold ourselves always in readiness 
to cooperate actively with their author's mind — in 
other words, to throw ourselves upon them in all our 
own intellectual strength ; to challenge their precepts, 
weigh their judgments, and bring their observations 
to the test of what we ourselves have learned of life 
in books and personal experience. Only by this 
kind of strenuous and determined effort can we hope 
to make the study of them profitable to us ; and if we 
are not willing to put forth such effort, we may as well 
leave them alone. A wise man once said that there 
are two sorts of books — those over which we nod 
our heads, and those at which we scratch our ears : 
the books which simply carry us along with them, and 
the books with which we have to close in hand-to- 
hand individual encounter. Bacon''s Essays belong 
to the latter class. And whenever we turn to them 



XX INTR OD UC TION. 

we should remember his own counsel : " Read not to 
contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for 
granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh 
and consider." 

WILLIAM HENRY HUDSON. 
March, 1901. 



THE 

E S S A Y E S 



OR 



C O V N S E L S, 

CIVILL AND 
MORALE, 

OF 

FRANCIS LO. VERVLAM, 

VISCOVNT St Alban. 
Newly enlarged. 




LONDON, 

Printed by Iohn Haviland for 

Hanna Barret, and Richard 

Whitaker, and are to be sold 

at the signe of the Kings head in 

Pauls Church-yard. 1625. 



Dedication to the Edition of 1 625. 

TO 

THE RIGHT HONORABLE 

MY VERY GOOD LO. 

THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM 

his grace, lo. high admirall 
of england. 

Excellent Lo. 

Salomon saies ; A good Name is as a precious 
oy fitment; And I assure my selfe, such wil your 
Graces Name bee, with Posteritie. For your For- 
tune, and Merit both, have beene Eminent. And 
you have planted Things, that are like to last. I doe 
now publish my Essayes ; which of all my other 
workes, have beene most Currant: For that, as it 
seemes, they come home, to Mens Businesse, and 
Bosomes. I have enlarged them, both in Number, 
and Weight ; So that they are indeed a New Worke. 
I thought it therefore agreeable, to my Affection, and 
Obligation to your Grace, to prefix your Name before 
them, both in English, and in Latine. For I doe 
conceive, that the Latine Volume of them, (being in 
the Universall Language) may last, as long as Bookes 
last. My Instauration, I dedicated to the Kiitg: 
My Hist'orie of HENRY the Seventh, (which I have 
now also translated into Latine) and my Portions of 



xxiv DEDICATION, 1625. 

Naturall History, to the Prince : And these I dedi- 
cate to your Grace ; Being of the best Fruits, that by 
the good Encrease, which God gives to my Pen and 
Labours, I could yeeld. God leade your Grace by 
the Hand. 

Your Graces jnost Obliged and 
faithfull Serva?it, 

Fr. St. ALBAN. 



THE EPISTLE DEDICATORIE 

To M. Anthony Bacon 
his deare B}- other. 

Loving and beloved Brother, 1 doe nowe like some 
that have an Orcharde ill neighbored, that gather 
their fruit before it is ripe, to prevent stealing. These 
fragments of my conceites were going- to print ; To 
labour the staie of them had bin troublesome, and 
subject to interpretation ; to let them passe had beene 
to adveture the wrong they mought receive by un- 
true Coppies, or by some garnishment, which it 
mought please any that should set them forth to 
bestow upon them. Therefore I helde it best dis- 
creation to publish them my selfe as they passed 
long agoe from my pen, without any further disgrace, 
then the weaknesse of the Author. And as I did 
ever hold, there mought be as great a vanitie in re- 
tiring and withdrawing mens conceites (except they 
bee of some nature) from the world, as in obtruding 
them : So in these particulars I have played my selfe 
the Inquisitor, and find nothing to my understanding 
in them contrarie or infectious to the state of Reli- 
gion, or manners, but rather (as I suppose) medicina- 
ble. Only I disliked now to put them out because 
they will be like the late new halfe-pence, which though 
the Silver were good, yet the peeces were small. But 

XXV 



xxvi DEDICATION', 1597. 

since they would not stay with their Master, but would 
needes travaile abroade, I have preferred them to you 
that are next myself, Dedicating them, such as they 
are, to our love, in the depth whereof (I assure you) 
I sometimes wish your infirmities translated uppon my 
selfe, that her Majestic mought have the service of so 
active and able a mind, & I mought be with excuse 
confined to these contemplations & studies for which 
I am fittest, so commende I you to the preservation 
of the divine Majestic. From my Chamber at Graies 
Inne, this 30. of Januarie, 1597. 

Your entire Loving brother, 

Fran. Bacon. 



Dedication to the Edition of i6i2. 



THE EPISTLE DEDICATORIE 

To my Loving Brother, Sir John Constable, 
Knight. 

My last Essaies I dedicated to my deare brother 
Master Anthony Bacon, who is with God, Looking 
amongst my papers this vacation, I found others of 
the same Nature : which if I my selfe shall not suffer 
to be lost, it seemeth the World will not ; by the 
often printing of the former. Missing my Brother, 
I found you next ; in respect of bond both of neare 
alliance, and of straight friendship and societie, and 
particularly of communication in studies. Wherein 
I must acknowledge my selfe beholding to you. For 
as my businesse found rest in my contemplations ; so 
my contemplations ever found rest in your loving 
conference and judgement. So wishing you all good, 
I remaine 

Your loving brother and friend, 

Fra. Bacon. 



THE TABLE. 

PAGE 

1. Of Truth I 

2. Of Death 4 

3. Of Unitie in Religion 7 

4. Of Revenge 14 

5. Of Adversitie 16 

6. Of Simulation and Dissimulation . . .18 

7. Of Parents and Children 23 

8. Of Marriage and Single Life . . . - ^5 

9. Of Envie 28 

10. Of Love 36 

11. Of Great Place 39 

12. Of Boldnesse 44 

13. Of Goodnesse, and Goodnesse of Nature . . 47 

14. Of Nobilitie 51 

15. Of Seditions and Troubles 53 

16. Of Atheisme 64 

17. Of Superstition 68 

18. Of Travaile 70 

19. Of Empire 74 

20. Of Counsell 81 

21. Of Delaies 89 

22. Of Cunning 90 

23. Of Wisdome for a Mans Selfe .... 96 

24. Of Innovations 98 

25. Of Dispatch 100 

26. Of Seeming Wise 103 

xxix 



XXX THE TABLE, 




27. Of Frendship 


28. Of Expence .... 


. 


. 


29. Of the true Greatnesse of Kingdo 


mesa 


nd Estates 


30. Of Regiment of Health 






31. Of Suspicion .... 






32. Of Discourse .... 






33. Of Plantations .... 






34. Of Riches 






35. Of Prophecies .... 






36. Of Ambition .... 






37. Of Maskes and Triumphs . 






38. Of Nature in Men 






39. Of Custome and Education 






40. Of Fortune 






41. Of Usury .... 






42. Of Youth and Age 






43. Of Beautie 






44. Of Deformitie . 






45. Of Building 






46. Of Gardens 






47. Of Negotiating , 






48. Of Followers and Frends . 






49. Of Sutours 






'50. Of Studies 






51. Of Faction 






52. Of Ceremonies and Respects 






53. Of Praise .... 






54. Of Vain-Glory . 






55. Of Honour and Reputation 






56. Of Judicature . 






57. Of Anger .... 






58. Of Vicissitude of Things . 






Of Fame, a fragment 







ESSAYES. 



OF TRUTH. 



What is Truth ; said jesting Pilate ; And would 
not stay for an Answer. Certainly there be, that 
delight in Giddinesse j And count it a Bondage, 
to fix a Beleefe ; Affecting Freewill in Thinking, 
as well as in Acting. And though the Sects of 
Philosophers of that Kinde be gone, yet there 
remaine certaine discoursing Wits, which are of 
the same veines, though there be not so much 
Bloud in them, as was in those of the Ancients. 
But it is not onely the Difficultie, and Labour, 
which Men take in finding out of Truth; Nor 
againe, that when it is found, it imposeth upon 
mens Thoughts ; that doth bring Lies in favour : 
But a naturall, though corrupt Love, of the Lie it 
selfe. One of the later Schoole of the Grecians, 
examineth the matter, and is at a stand, to thinke 
what should be in it, that men should love Lies ; 
Where neither they make for Pleasure, as with 
Poets ; Nor for Advantage, as with the Merchant ; 



2 ESS A YES. 

but for the Lies sake. But I cannot tell : This 
same Truth, is a Naked, and Open day light, 
that doth not shew, the Masques, and Mummer- 
ies, and Triumphs of the world, halfe so Stately, 
and daintily, as Candlelights. Truth may per- 
haps come to the price of a Pearle, that sheweth 
best by day : But it will not rise, to the price of 
a Diamond, or Carbuncle, that sheweth best in 
varied lights. A mixture of a Lie doth ever adde 
Pleasure. Doth any man doubt, that if there 
were taken out of Mens Mindes, Vaine Opinions, 
Flattering Hopes, False valuations. Imaginations 
as one would, and the like ; but it would leave 
the Mindes, of a Number of Men, poore shrunken 
Things ; full of Melancholy, and Indisposition, and 
unpleasing to themselves? One of the Fathers, in 
great Severity, called Poesie, Vinum D(Emo7ium ; 
because it filleth the Imagination, and yet it is, 
but with the shadow of a Lie. But it is not the 
Lie, that passeth through the Minde, but the Lie 
that sinketh in, and setleth in it, that doth the 
hurt, such as we spake of before. But howsoever 
these things are thus, in mens depraved Judge- 
ments, and Affections, yet Truth, which onely 
doth judge it selfe, teacheth, that the Inquirie of 
Truth, which is the Love-making, or Wooing of 
it ; The knowledge of Truth, which is the Presence 
of it; and the Beleefe of Truth, which is the 



OF TRUTH. 3 

Enjoying of it ; is the Soveraigne Good of humane 
Nature. The first Creature of God, in the workes 
of the Dayes, was the Light of the Sense ; The 
last, was the Light of Reason ; And his Sabbath 
Worke, ever since, is the Illumination of his Spirit. 
First he breathed Light, upon the Face, of the 
Matter or Chaos ; Then he breathed Light, into 
the Face of Man ; and still he breatheth and 
inspireth Light, into the Face of his Chosen. 
The Poet, that beautified the Sect, that was other- 
wise inferiour to the rest, saith yet excellently 
well ; // is a pleasure to stand upon the shore, and 
to see ships tost npon the Sea : A pleasure to stand 
in the window of a Castle, and to see a Battaile, 
and the Adventures thereof, below : But no pleas- 
ure is cojnparable, to the standing, upon the vantage 
ground of Truth : (A hill not to be commanded, 
and where the Ay re is alwaies clear e and serene ;) 
And to see the Erroui's, afid Wandrings, and 
Mists, and Tempests, in the vale below : So al- 
waies, that this prospect, be with Pitty, and not 
with Swelling, or Pride. Certainly, it is Heaven 
upon Earth, to have a Mans Minde Move in 
Charitie, Rest in Providence, and Turne upon 
the Poles of Truth. 

To passe from Theologicall, and Philosophical! 
Truth, to the Truth of civill Businesse ; It will be 
acknowledged, even by those, that practize it not, 



4 ESS A YES. 

that cleare and Round dealing, is the Honour of 
Mans Nature ; And that Mixture of Falshood, is 
like Allay in Coyne of Gold and Silver ; which 
may make the Metall worke the better, but it 
embasetlt it. For these winding, and crooked 
courses, are the Goings of the Serpent ; which 
goeth basely upon the belly, and not upon the 
Feet. There is no Vice, that doth so cover a 
Man with Shame, as to be found false, and per- 
fidious. And therefore Mountaigny saith prettily, 
when he enquired the reason, why the word of 
the Lie^ should be such a Disgrace, and such an 
Odious Charge ? Saith he. If it he well weighed, 
To say that a man lieth, is as much to say, as 
that he is brave towa?'ds God, and a Coward 
towards Men. For a Lie faces God, and shrinkes 
from Man. Surely the Wickednesse of Falshood, 
and Breach of Faith, cannot possibly be so highly 
expressed, as in that it shall be the last Peale, to 
call the Judgements of God, upon the Genera- 
tions of Men, It being foretold, that when Christ 
commeth, He shall notfinde Faith upon the Earth. 

II. 

OF DEATH. 

Men feare Death, as Children feare to goe in 
the darke : And as that Natural Feare in Chil- 



OF DEA TH. 5 

dren, is increased with Tales, so is the other. 
Certainly, the Contemplation of Death, as the 
wages of sinne, and Passage to another world, is 
Holy, and Religious ; But the Feare of it, as a 
Tribute due unto Nature, is weake. Yet in Re- 
ligious Meditations, there is sometimes. Mixture 
of Vanitie, and of Superstition. You shal reade, 
in some of the Friars Books of Mortification, that 
a man should thinke with himselfe, what the 
Paine is, if he have but his Fingers end Pressed, 
or Tortured; And thereby imagine, what the 
Paines of Death are, when the whole Body, is 
corrupted and dissolved ; when many times. 
Death passeth with lesse paine, then the Torture 
of a Limme : For the most vitall parts, are not 
the quickest of Sense. And by him, that spake 
onely as a Philosopher, and Naturall Man, it was 
well said ; Ponipa Mortis viagis ferret, qiiain Mors 
ipsa. Groanes and Convulsions, and a Discol- 
oured Face, and Friends weeping, and Blackes, 
and Obsequies, and the like, shew Death Terrible. 
It is worthy the observing, that there is no pas- 
sion in the minde of man, so weake, but it Mates, 
and Masters, the feare of Death : And therefore 
Death, is no such terrible Enemie, when a man 
hath so many Attendants, about him, that can 
winne the combat of him. Revenge triumphs over 
Death; Love slights it; Honour aspireth to it; 



6 ESSA YES. 

Grief e flieth to it; Feare pre-occupateth it; Nay 
we reade, after OtJio the Emperour had slaine 
himselfe, Pitty (which is the tenderest of Affec- 
tions) provoked many to die, out of meere com- 
passion to their Soveraigne, and as the truest sort 
of Followers. Nay Seneca addes Nicenesse o^ 
Saciety ; Cogita quain dih eadem feceris ; Mori 
velle, non tantiiin Fortis, aut Afiser, sed etiam 
Fastidiosus potest. A man would die, though he 
were neither valiant, nor miserable, onely upon 
a wearinesse to doe the same thing, so oft over 
and over. It is no lesse worthy to observe, how 
little Alteration, in good Spirits, the Approaches 
of Death make ; For they appeare, to be the same 
Men, till the last Instant. Augustus Ccesar died 
in a Complement ; Livia, Conjugij nostri memory 
vive 6^ vale. Tiberius in dissimulation ; As Ta- 
citus saith of him ; Ja7?i Tiberiu77i Vires, 6^ Cor- 
pus, 11071 dissi77iulatio, deserebaiit. Vespasian in 
a Jest ; Sitting upon the Stoole, Ut puto Deus fio. 
Galba with a Sentence ; Feii, si ex re sit populi 
Ro77ia7ii ; Holding forth his Necke. Septi77iius 
Sevei'us in dispatch ; Adeste, si quid i7iihi restat 
age7idu7n. And the like. Certainly, the Stoikes 
bestowed too much cost upon Death, and by their 
great preparations, made it appeare more feare- 
full. Better saith he, Qui Fi7iem Vitce extremum 
i7iter MuTiei^a po7iat Naturae. It is as Naturall to 



OF UNITY IN RELIGION. 7 

die, as to be borne ; And to a little Infant, per- 
haps, the one, is as painfull, as the other. He 
that dies in an earnest Pursuit, is like one that is 
wounded in hot Bloud ; who, for the time, scarce 
feeles the Hurt ; And therefore, a Minde fixt, and 
bent upon somewhat, that is good, doth avert the 
Dolors oi Death: But above all, beleeve it, the 
sweetest Canticle is, Nunc dunittis ; when a Man 
hath obtained worthy Ends, and Expectations. 
Death hath this also ; That it openeth the Gate, 
to good Fame, and extinguisheth Envie. 

Extinctus atnabitur idem. 



HI. 



OF UNITY IN RELIGION. 

Religion being the chiefe Band of humane 
Society, it is a happy thing, when it selfe, is well 
contained, within the true Band of Unity. The 
Quarrels, and Divisions about Religion, were Evils 
unknowne to the Heathen. The Reason was, 
because the Religion of the Heathen, consisted 
rather in Rites and Ceremonies ; then in any con- 
stant Beleefe. For you may iiiiagine, what kinde 
of Faith theirs was, when the chiefe Doctors, and 
Fathers of their Church, were the Poets. But 
the true God hath this Attribute, That he is a 



8 ESS A YES. 

Jealous God ; And therefore, his worship and 
Religion, will endure no Mixture, nor Partner. 
We shall therefore speake, a few words, concern- 
ing the Unity of the Chu7xh ; What are the Fruits 
thejrof; what the Bounds ; And ivhat the Meanes ? 
The Fruits of Unity (next unto the well Pleas- 
ing of God, which is All in All) are two; The 
One, towards those, that are without the Church ; 
The Other, towards those, that are within. For 
the Former ; It is certaine, that Heresies, and 
Schismes, are of all others, the greatest Scandals ; 
yea more than Corruption of Manners. For as in 
the Naturall Body, a Wound or Solution of Con- 
tinuity, is worse then a Corrupt Plumor ; So in the 
Spirituall. So that nothing, doth so much keepe 
Men out of the Church, and drive Men out of the 
Church, as Breach of Ufiity : And therefore, when- 
soever it commeth to that passe, that one saith, 
Fcce in Deserto ; Another saith, Ecce iji penetra- 
libus ; That is, when some Men seeke Christ, in 
the Conventicles of Pleretikes, and others, in an 
Outward Face of a Church, that voice had need 
continually to sound in Mens Fares, Nolite exi?'e, 
Goe not out. The Doctor of the Gentiles (the 
Propriety of whose Vocation, drew him to have 
a special! care of those without) saith; If an 
Heathen come in, and heare you speake with sev- 
erall Tongues, Will he not say that you. are mad ? 



OF UNITY IN RELIGION. 9 

And certainly, it is little better, when Atheists, and 
prophane Persons, do heare of so many Discord- 
ant, and Contrary Opinions in Religion ; It doth 
avert them from the Church, and maketh them. 
To sit downe in the chaire of the Scoiiiers. It is 
but a light Thing, to be Vouched in so Serious a 
Matter, but yet it expresseth well the Deformity. 
There is a Master of Scoffing ; that in his Cata- 
logue of Books, of a faigned Library, sets Downe 
this Title of a Booke ; The morris daunce of Here- 
tikes. For indeed, every Sect of them, hath a 
Divers Posture, or Cringe by themselves, which 
cannot but Move Derision, in Worldlings, and De- 
praved Politickes, who are apt to contemne Holy 
Things. 

As for the Fruit towards those that are within ; 
It is Peace ; which containeth infinite Blessings : 
It estabHsheth Faith; It kindleth Charity; The 
outward Peace of the Church, Distilleth into 
Peace of Conscience ; And it turneth the Labours, 
of Writing, and Reading of Controversies, into 
Treaties of Mortification, and Devotion. 

Concerning the Bounds of Unity; The true 
Placing of them, importeth exceedingly. There 
appeare to be two extremes. For to certaine 
Zelants all Speech of Pacification is odious. Is 
it peace, Jehu ? What hast thou to doe with peace ? 
iurne thee behinde me. Peace is not the Matter, 



lO ESS A YES. 

but Following and Party. Contrariwise, certaine 
Laodiceans, and Luke-warme Persons, thinke they 
may accommodate Points of Religion, by Middle 
Waies, and taking part of both ; And witty Recon- 
cilements ; As if they would make an Arbitrement, 
betweene God and Man. Both these Extremes 
are to be avoyded; which will be done, if the 
League of Christians, penned by our Saviour 
himselfe, were in the two crosse Clauses thereof, 
soundly and plainly expounded ; He that is not 
with us, is against us : And again e ; He that is not 
against us, is with us : That is, if the Points Fun- 
damental! and of Substance in Religion, were truly 
discerned and distinguished, from Points not 
meerely of Faith, but of Opinion, Order, or good 
Intention. This is a Thing, may seeme to many, 
a Matter triviall, and done already : But if it were 
done lesse partially, it would be embraced more 
generally. 

Of this I may give onely this Advice, according 
to my small Modell. Men ought to take heede, 
of rending Gods Church, by two kinds of Con- 
troversies. The one is, when the Matter of the 
Point controverted, is too small and light, not 
worth the Heat, and Strife about it, kindled onely 
by Contradiction. For, as it is noted by one of 
the Fathers ; Christs Coat, indeed, had no seame : 
But the Churches Vestitre was of divers colou7's ; 



OF UNITY IN RELIGION 1 1 

whereupon he saith, /// veste varietas sit, Scissura 
non sit ; They be two Things, Unity, and Uni- 
formity. The other is, when the Matter of the 
Point Controverted is great ; but it is driven to 
an over-great Subtilty, and Obscurity ; So that 
it becommeth a Thing, rather Ingenious, than 
Substantial!. A man that is of Judgement and 
understanding, shall sometimes heare Ignorant 
Men differ, and know well within himselfe, that 
those which so differ, meane one thing, and yet 
they themselves would never agree. And if it 
come so to passe, in that distance of Judgement, 
which is betweene Man and Man ; Shall wee not 
thinke, that God above, that knowes the Heart, 
doth not discerne, that fraile Men, in some of their 
Contradictions, intend the same thing ; and ac- 
cepteth of both? The Nature of such Contro- 
versies is excellently expressed, by S^. Paul, in 
the Warning and Precept, that he giveth, concern- 
ing the same, Devita profanas vocum Novitates, 
6^ Oppositiones falsi Nominis Scientice. Men 
create Oppositions, which are not ; And put them 
into new termes, so fixed, as whereas the Meaning 
ought to governe the Terme, the Terme in effect 
governeth the Meaning. There be also two false 
Peaces, or Unities ; The one, when the Peace is 
grounded, but upon an implicite ignorance ; For 
all Colours will agree in the Darke : The other, 



12 ESS A YES. 

when it is peeced up, upon a direct Admission of 
Contraries, in Fundamental! Points. For Truth 
and Falshood, in such things, are Hke the Iron 
and Clay, in the foes of Nabucadnezars Image ; 
They may Cleave, but they will not Incor- 
porate. 

Concerning the Meanes of P^'ocuring Unify ; 
Men must beware, that in the Procuring, or Mu- 
niting, of Religious Unify, they doe not Dissolve 
and Deface the Lawes of Charity, and of humane 
Society. There be two Swords amongst Chris- 
tians ; the Spirituall, and Temporall ; And both 
have their due Office, and place, in the mainten- 
ance of Religion. But we may not take up the 
Third sword, which is Mahomets Sword, or like 
unto 't ; That is, to propagate Religion, by Warrs, 
or by Sanguinary Persecutions, to force Con- 
sciences ; except it be in cases of Overt Scandal!, 
Blasphemy, or Intermixture of Practize, against 
the State ; Much lesse to Nourish Seditions ; To 
Authorize Conspiracies and Rebellions ; To put 
the Sword into the Peoples Hands ; And the like ; 
Tending to the Subversion of all Government, 
which is the Ordinance of God. For this is, but 
to dash the first Table, against the Second ; And 
so to consider Men as Christians, as we forget 
that they are Men. Lucrefius the Poet, when he 
beheld the Act of Againeinnon, that could endure 



OF UNITY IN RELIGION 13 

the Sacrificing of his owne Daughter, exclaimed ; 

Tantum Religio potuit siiadei-e malorum. 

What would he have said, if he had knowne of 
the Massacre in France, or the Powder Treason 
of England ? He would have beene, Seven times 
more Epicure and Atheist, then he was. For as 
the temporall Sword, is to bee drawne, with great 
circumspection, in Cases of Religion ; So it is a 
thing monstrous, to put it into the hands of the 
Common People. Let that bee left unto the 
Anabaptists, and other Furies. It was great 
Blasphemy, when the Devill said; I will ascend^ 
and be like the Highest ; But it is greater Blas- 
phemy, to personate God, and bring him in say- 
ing ; / will descend, and be like the Prince of 
Darknesse ; And what is it better, to make the 
cause of Religion, to descend, to the cruell and 
execrable Actions, of Murthering Princes, Butch- 
ery of People, and Subversion of States, and 
Governments? Surely, this is to bring Downe 
the Holy Ghost, in stead of the Likenesse of a 
Dove, in the Shape of a Vulture, or Raven : And 
to set, out of the Barke of a Christian Church, a 
Flagge of a Barque of Pirats, and Assassifis. 
Therfore it is most necessary, that the Church 
by Doctrine and Decree ; Princes by their Sword ; 
And all Learnings, both Christian and Moral!, as 



14 ESSAYES. 

by their Mercury Rod ; Doe Damne and send to 
Hell, for ever, those Facts and Opinions, tending 
to the Support of the same ; As hath beene 
already in good part done. Surely in Counsels, 
Concerning Religion^ that Counsel of the Apostle 
would be prefixed ; Ira honmiis non implet Justi- 
ciain Dei. And it was a notable Observation, of 
a wise Father, And no lesse ingenuously con- 
fessed ; That those, which held and perswaded, 
pressure of Consciences, were commonly interessed 
therin, the7nselves,for their ow?ie ends, 

IV. 

OF REVENGE. 

Revenge is a kinde of Wilde Justice; which 
the more Mans Nature runs to, the more ought 
Law to weed it out. For as for the first Wrong, 
it doth but offend the Law ; but the Revejige of 
that wrong, putteth the Law out of Office. Cer- 
tainly, in taking Revenge, A Man is but even with 
his Enemy ; But in passing it over, he is Supe- 
riour : For it is a Princes part to Pardon. And 
Salo77io7i, I am sure, saith, // is the glory of a 
Man to passe by a?t offence. That which is past, 
is gone, and Irrevocable ; And wise Men have 
Enough to doe, with things present, and to come : 



OF REVENGE, 1 5 

Therefore, they doe but trifle with themselves, 
that labour in past matters. There is no man, 
doth a wrong, for the wrongs sake ; But therby 
to purchase himselfe. Profit, or Pleasure, or Hon- 
our, or the hke. Therfore why should I be angry 
with a Man, for loving himselfe better than mee ? 
And if any Man should doe wrong, meerely out 
of ill nature, why? yet it is but like the Thorn, 
or Bryar, which prick, and scratch, because they 
can doe no other. The most Tolerable Sort of 
Revenge is for those wrongs which there is no 
Law to remedy : But then, let a man take heed, 
the Revenge be such, as there is no law to punish : 
Else, a Mans Enemy, is still before hand. And 
it is two for one. Some, when they take Revenge, 
are Desirous the party should know, whence it 
commeth : This is the more Generous. For the 
Delight seemeth to be, not so much in doing the 
Hurt, as in Making the Party repent : But Base 
and Crafty Cowards, are like the Arrow, that fly- 
eth in the Darke. Cosiiiiis Duke of Flo7'ence, had 
a Desperate Saying, against Perfidious or Neg- 
lecting Friends, as if those wrongs were unpar- 
donable : You shall reade (saith he) that we are 
conunanded to forgive our Enemies ; But you 
never read, that wee are comtnanded, to forgive our 
Friends. But yet the Spirit of Job, was in a bet- 
ter tune ; Shall wee (saith he) take good at Gods 



1 6 £SSAY£S. 

Hands, afid not be content to take evill also? And 
so of Friends in a proportion. This is certaine ; 
That a Man that studieth Revenge, keepes his 
owne Wounds greene, which otherwise would 
heale, and doe well. Publique Revenges, are, for 
the most part, Fortunate ; As that for the Death 
of Ccesai' ; For the Death of Pertinax ; for the 
Death of Henry the Third of France ; And many- 
more. But in private Revenges it is not so. Nay 
rather. Vindicative Persons live the Life of 
Witches ; who as they are Michievous, So end 
they Infortunate. 

V. 

OF ADVERSITIE. 

It was an high speech of Seneca, (after the 
manner of the Stoickes) That the good things, 
which belong to Prosperity, are to be wished; but 
the good things, that belong to Adversity, are to be 
admired. Bona Rertwi Secundan/m, Optabilia ; 
Adversarum, Mirabilia. Certainly if Miracles, 
be the Command over Nature, they appeare most 
in Adversity. It is yet a higher speech of his, 
then the other, (much too high for a Heathen). 
// is true greatnesse, to have in one, the Frailty of 
a Man, 6^ the Security of a God. Vere magnum, 
habere Fragilitatem Hominis, Securitatem Dei, 



OF ADVERSITIE. 1/ 

This would have done better in Poesy; where 
Transcendences are more allowed. And the Poets 
indeed, have beene busy with it; For it is, in 
effect, the thing, which is figured in that Strange 
Fiction, of the Ancient Poets, which seemeth 
not to be without mystery; Nay, and to have 
some approach, to the State of a Christian : That 
Hei'cules, when hee went to nnbinde Prometheus ^ 
(by whom Humane Nature is represented) sailed 
the length of the gj-eat Ocean, in an Earthen Pot, 
or Pitcher : Lively describing Christian Resolu- 
tion; that saileth, in the fraile Barke of the 
Flesh, thorow the Waves of the World. But to 
speake in a Meane. The Vertue of Prosperitie, 
is Temperance; The Vertue of Adversity, is For- 
titude: which in Morals is the more Heroicall 
Vertue. Prosperity is the Blessing of the Old 
Testament; Advej'sity is the Blessing of the New; 
which carrieth the greater Benediction, and the 
Clearer Revelation of Gods Favour. Yet, even 
in the old Testament, if you Listen to Davids 
Harpe, you shall heare as many Herselike Ayres, 
as Carols: And the Pencill of the holy Ghost, 
hath laboured more, in describing, the Afflic- 
tions of Job, then the Felicities of Salomon. 
Prosperity is not without many Feares and Dis- 
tastes; And Adversity is not without Comforts 
and Hopes. Wee see in Needle-workes, and 
c 



1 8 ESS AYES. 

Imbroideries, It is more pleasing, to have a 
Lively Worke, upon a Sad and Solemne Ground; 
then to have a Darke and Melancholy Worke, 
upon a Lightsome Ground: Judge therfore, of 
the Pleasure of the Heart, by the Pleasure of the 
Eye. Certainly, Vertue is like pretious Odours, 
most fragrant, when they are incensed, or crushed : 
For Prosperity doth best discover Vice; But 
Adversity doth best discover Vertue. 

VL 

OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION. 

Dissimulation is but a faint kind of Policy, 
or Wisdome; For it asketh a strong Wit, and a 
strong Heart, to know, when to tell Truth, and 
to doe it. Therfore it is the weaker Sort of 
Politicks, that are the great Dissemblers. 

Tacitus saith; Livia sorted well, with the Arts 
of her Husband, d^ Dissi??iulation of her Sonne: 
Attributing Arts or Policy to Augustus, and Dis- 
simulation to Tiberius. And againe, when 
Muciafius encourageth Vespasian, to take Arms 
against Vitellius, he saith; We rise not, against 
the Piercing Judg7?tent of Augustus, nor the Ex- 
treme Caution or Closenesse of Tibei'ius. These 
Properties of Arts or Policy, and Dissiniulatiofi 



OF SIMULA TION AND DISSIMULA TION, 1 9 

or Closenesse, are indeed Habits and Faculties, 
severall, and to be distinguished. For if a Man, 
have that Penetration of Judgment, as he can 
discerne, what Things are to be laid open, and 
what to be secretted, and what to be shewed at 
Halfe lights, and to whom, and when, (which 
indeed are Arts of State, and Arts of Life, as 
Tacitus well calleth them) to him, A Habit of 
Dissimulation, is a Hinderance, and a Poore- 
nesse. But if a Man cannot obtaine to that 
Judgment, then it is left to him, generally, to be 
Close, and a Dissembler. For where a Man 
cannot choose, or vary in Particulars, there it is 
good to take the safest and wariest Way in gen- 
erall; Like the Going softly by one that cannot 
well see. Certainly the ablest Men, that ever 
were, have had all an Opennesse, and Franck- 
nesse of dealing; And a name of Certainty, and 
Veracity; But then they were like Horses, well 
mannaged; For they could tell passing well, 
when to stop, or turne : And at such times, when 
they thought the Case indeed, required Dissimu- 
lation, if then they used it, it came to passe, that 
the former Opinion, spred abroad of their good 
Faith, and Clearnesse of dealing, made them 
almost Livisible. 

There be three degrees, of this Hiding, and 
Vailing of a Mans Selfe. The first Closenesse, 



20 ESSA YES. 

Reservation^ and Secrecy ; when a Man leaveth 
himselfe without Observation, or without Hold 
to be taken, what he is. The second Dissimula- 
tioiiy in the Negative ; when a man lets fall Signes, 
and Arguments, that he is not, that he is. And 
the third Sinmlation, in the Affirmative; when 
a Man industriously, and expressely, faigns, and 
pretends to be, that he is not. 

For the first of these, Secrecy: It is indeed, 
the Vertue of a Confessour; And assuredly, the 
Secret MsiVi, heareth many Confessions; For who 
will open himselfe, to a Blab or a Babler? But 
if a Man be thought Secret, it inviteth Discoverie; 
As the more Close Aire, sucketh in the more 
Open: And as in Confession, the Revealing is 
not for worldly use, but for the Ease of a Mans 
Heart, so Seci-et Men come to the Knowledge of 
Many Things, in that kinde; while Men rather 
discharge their Mindes, then impart their Mindes. 
In few words. Mysteries are due to Secrecy. 
Besides (to say Truth) Nakednesse is uncomely, 
as well in Minde, as Body; and it addeth no 
small Reverence, to Mens Manners, and Actions, 
if they be not altogether Open. As for Talkers 
and Futile Persons, they are commonly Vaine, 
and Credulous withall. For He that talketh, what 
he knoweth, will also talke, what he knoweth not. 
Therfore set it downe; That a Ji Habit of Secrecy, 



OF SIMULATION AND DISSIMULATION. 21 

is both Politick, and Morall. And in this Part, 
it is good, that a Mans Face, give his Tongue, 
leave to Speake. For the Discovery, of a Mans 
Selfe, by the Tracts of his Countenance, is a great 
Weaknesse, and Betraying; By how much, it is 
many times, more marked and beleeved, than a 
Mans words. 

For the Second, which is Dissimulatioii. It 
followeth many times upon Secrecy, by a neces- 
sity: So that, he that will be Secret, must be a 
Dissembler, in some degree. For Men are too 
cunning, to suffer a Man, to keepe an indifferent 
carriage, betweene both, and to be Secret, with- 
out Swaying the Ballance, on either side. They 
will so beset a man with Questions, and draw 
him on, and picke it out of him, that without an 
absurd Silence, he must shew an Inclination, one 
way; Or if he doe not, they will gather as much 
by his Silence, as by his Speech. As for Equivo- 
cations, or Oraculous Speeches, they cannot hold 
out long. So that no man can be seci-et, except 
he give himself e a little Scope of Dissimulation ; 
which is, as it were, but the Skirts or Traine of 
Secrecy. 

But for the third Degree, which is Simiilatio7i, 
and false Profession; That I hold more culpable, 
and lesse politicke; except it be in great and rare 
Matters. And therefore a generall Custome of 



22 ESS A YES. 

Sbnulation (which is this last Degree) is a Vice, 
rising, either of a naturall Falsenesse, or Feare- 
fulnesse; Or of a Minde, that hath some maine 
Faults; which because a man must needs dis- 
guise, it maketh him practise Si)milation, in other 
things, lest his Hand should be out of use. 

The great Advantages of Simulation and Dis- 
siinulation are three. First to lay asleepe Oppo- 
sition, and to Surprize. For where a Mans 
Intentions, are published, it is an Alarum, to 
call up, all that are against them. The second 
is, to reserve to a Mans Selfe, a faire Retreat: 
For if a man engage himselfe, by a manifest 
Declaration, he must goe through, or take a Fall. 
The third is, the better to discover the Minde of 
another. For to him that opens himselfe, Men 
will hardly shew themselves adverse; but will 
(faire) let him goe on, and turne their Freedome 
of Speech, to Freedome of thought. And there- 
fore, it is a good shrewd Proverbe of the Spaniard ; 
Tell a lye, and fin de a Troth. As if there were 
no way of Discovery, but by SiiJiulation. There 
be also three Disadvantages, to set it even. The 
first, That Simulation and Dissimulation, com- 
monly carry with them, a Shew of Fearfulnesse, 
which in any Businesse, doth spoile the Feathers, 
of round flying up to the Mark. The second, 
thatitpusleth&perplexeth the Conceits of many; 



OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN 23 

that perhaps would otherwise co-operate with 
him; and makes a Man walke, almost alone, to 
his owne Ends. The third, and greatest is, that 
it depriveth a Man, of one, of the most principall 
Instruments for Action; which is Trust and 
Beleefe. The best Composition, and Tempera- 
ture is, to have Opennesse in Fame and Opinion; 
Secrecy in Habit; Dissimulation in seasonable 
use; And a Power to faigne, if there be no 
Remedy. 

VII. 

OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN. 

The Joyes of Paretits are Secret; And so are 
their Griefes, and Feares : They cannot utter the 
one; Nor they will not utter the other. Children 
sweeten Labours; But they make Misfortunes 
more bitter: They increase the Cares of Life; 
but they mitigate the Remembrance of Death. 
The Perpetuity by Generation is common to 
Beasts; But Memory, Merit, and Noble workes, 
are proper to Men : And surely a Man shall see, 
the Noblest workes, and Foundations, have pro- 
ceeded from Childlesse Men ; which have sought 
to expresse the Images of their Minds; where 
those of their Bodies have failed : So the care of 



24 ^SSA YES. 

Posterity, is most in them, that have no Posterity. 
They that are the first Raisers of their Houses, 
are most Indulgent towards their Children , Be- 
holding them, as the Continuance, not only of 
their kinde, but of their Worke; And so both 
Children, and Creatures. 

The difference in Affection, of Parents, towards 
their severall Children, is many times unequall; 
And sometimes unworthy; Especially in the 
mother; As Salomon saith; A wise sonne rejoyc- 
eth the Father ; but an ungracious sonne shames 
the Mother. A Man shall see, where there is a 
House full of Children, one or two, of the Eldest, 
respected, and the Youngest made wantons; But 
in the middest, some that are, as it were for- 
gotten, who, many times, neverthelesse, prove the 
best. The lUiberalitie of Parents, in allowance 
towards their Children, is an harmefuU Errour; 
Makes them base; Acquaints them with Shifts; 
Makes them sort with meane Company; And 
makes them surfet more, when they come to 
Plenty : And therefore, the Proofe is best, when 
Men keepe their Authority towards their Chil- 
dren, but not their Purse. Men have a foolish 
manner (both Parents, and Schoolemasters, and 
Servants) in creating and breeding an Emulation 
between Brothers, during Childhood, which many 
times sorteth to Discord, when they are Men; 



OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE. 25 

And disturbeth Families. The Italians make little 
difference betweene Children, and Nephewes, or 
neere Kinsfolkes; But so they be of the Lumpe, 
they care not, though they passe not through their 
owne Body. And, to say Truth, in Nature, it is 
much a like matter; In so much, that we see a 
Nephew, sometimes, resembleth an Uncle, or a 
Kinsman, more then his owne Parent ; As the 
Bloud happens. Let Parents choose betimes, 
the Vocations, and Courses, they meane their 
Children should take; For then they are most 
flexible; And let them not too much apply them- 
selves, to the Disposition of their Children, as 
thinking they will take best to that, which they 
have most Minde to. It is true, that if the 
Affection or Aptnesse of the Childi-en, be Extraor- 
dinary, then it is good, not to crosse it; But 
generally, the Precept is good; Optimum elige, 
suave ^^ facile illiid faciei Consuetudo. Younger 
Brothers are commonly Fortunate, but seldome 
or never, where the Elder are disinherited. 

VIII. 

OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE. 

He that hath Wife and Children, hath given 
Hostages to Fortune; For they are Impediments, 
to great Enterprises, either of Vertue, or Mis- 



26 ESSA YES. 

chiefe. Certainly, the best workes, and of great- 
est Merit for the Publike, have proceeded from 
the tinmarried, or Childle-sse Men; which, both 
in Affection, and meanes, have married and 
endowed the Publike. Yet it were great Reason, 
that those that have Chihhen^ should have great- 
est care of future times; unto which, they know, 
they must transmit, their dearest pledges. Some 
there are, who though they lead a Single Life, yet 
their Thoughts doe end with themselves, and 
account future Times, Impertinences. Nay, 
there are some other, that account Wife and 
Children, but as Bills of charges. Nay more, 
there are some foolish rich covetous Men, that 
take a pride in having no Children, because they 
may be thought, so much the richer. For per- 
haps, they have heard some talke; Such an one 
is a great 7'ich Man; And another except to it; 
Yea, but he hath a great cliarge of Children : As if 
it were an Abatement to his Riches. But the 
most ordinary cause of a Single Life, is Liberty; 
especially, in certaine Selfe-pleasing, and humor- 
ous Mindes, which are so sensible of every 
restraint, as they will goe neare, to thinke their 
Girdles, and Garters, to be Bonds and Shackles. 
Unma?'7'ied Men BxehtstYntn^s; best Masters; 
best Servants; but not alwayes best Subjects; 
For they are light to runne away; And almost all 



OF MARRIAGE AND SINGLE LIFE. 2 J 

Fugitives are of that Condition. A Single Life 
doth well with Church men: For Charity will 
hardly water the Ground, where it must first fill 
a Poole. It is indifferent forjudges and Magis- 
trates: For if they be facile, and corrupt, you 
shall have a Servant, five times worse than a Wife, 
For Souldiers, I finde the Generalls commonly 
in their Hortatives, put Men in minde of their 
Wives and Children : And I thinke the Despising 
of Marriage, amongst the Turkes, maketh the 
vulgar souldier more base. Certainly, Wife and 
Children, are a kinde of Discipline of Humanity : 
And single Men, though they be many times 
more Charitable, because their Meanes are lesse 
exhaust; yet, on the other side, they are more 
cruell, and hard hearted, (good to make severe 
Inquisitors) because their Tendernesse, is not so 
oft called upon. Grave Natures, led by Custome, 
and therfore constant, are commonly loving Hus- 
bands ; As was said of Ulysses; Vetulani suain 
prcetulit Inimortalitati. Chast Women are often 
Proud, and froward, as Presuming upon the 
Merit of their Chastity. It is one of the best 
Bonds, both of Chastity and Obedience, in the 
Wife, if She thinke her Husband Wise; which 
She will never doe, if She finde him Jealous. 
Wives are young Mens Mistresses; Companions 
for middle Age; and old Mens Nurses. So as a 



28 ESS A YES. 

Man may have a Quarrell to marry, when he will. 
But yet, he was reputed one of the wise Men, 
that made Answer to the Question; When a Man 
should marry? A young Man not yet, an Elder 
Man not at all. It is often seene, that bad Hus- 
bands, have very good Wives; whether it be, 
that it rayseth the Price of their Husbands Kind- 
nesse, when it comes; Or that the Wives take a 
Pride, in their Patience. But this never failes, 
if the bad Husbands were of their owne choos- 
ing, against their Friends consent; For then, 
they will be sure, to make good their owne Folly. 



IX. 



OF ENVY. 

There be none of the Affections, which have 
beene noted to fascinate, or bewitch, but Love, 
and Eniy. They both have vehement wishes; 
They frame themselves readily into Imaginations, 
and Suggestions; And they come easily into the 
Eye; especially upon the presence of the Objects; 
which are the Points, that conduce to Fascination, 
if any such Thing there be. We see likewise, 
the Scripture calleth Envy, An Evill Eye : And 
the Astrologers, call the evill Influences of the 
Starrs, Evill Aspects ; So that still, there seemeth 



OF ENVY. 29 

to be acknowledged, in the Act of Efivy, an 
Ejaculation, or Irradiation of the Eye. Nay 
some have beene so curious, as to note, that the 
Times, when the Stroke, or Percussion of an 
Envious Eye doth most hurt, are, when the Party 
envied i"?, beheld in Glory, or Triumph; For that 
sets an Edge upon Envy ; And besides, at such 
times, the Spirits of the person Envied, doe come 
forth, most into the outward Parts, and so meet 
the Blow. 

But leaving these Curiosities, (though not 
unworthy, to be thought on, in fit place,) wee 
will handle, what Persons are apt to Envy others ; 
What persons are most Subject to be Envied them- 
selves ; And, What is the Difference between 
Publique, and private Envy. 

A man, that hath no vertue in himselfe, ever 
envieth Vertue in others. For Mens Mindes, will 
either feed upon their owne Good, or upon others 
Evill; And who wanteth the one, will prey upon 
the other; And who so is out of Hope to attaine 
to anothers Vertue, will seeke to come at even 
hand, by Depressing an others Fortune. 

A man that is Busy, and Inquisitive, is com- 
monly Envious : For to know much of other 
Mens Matters, cannot be, because all that Adoe 
may conce'rne his owne Estate : Therfore it must 
needs be, that he taketh a kinde of plaie-pleasure, 



30 ESS A YES. 

in looking upon the Fortunes of others; Neither 
can he, that mindeth but his own Businesse, finde 
much matter for Envy. For Envy is a Gadding 
Passion, and walketh the Streets, and doth not 
keepe home; Non est curiosiis, quin idem sit 
7nalevolus. 

Men of Noble birth, are noted, to be envious 
towards New Men, when they rise. For the dis- 
tance is altered; And it is like a deceipt of the 
Eye, that when others come on, they thinke 
themselves goe backe. 

Deformed Persons, and Eunuches, and Old 
Men, and Bastards, are Envious: For he that 
cannot possibly mend his owne case, will doe 
what he can to impaire anothers; Except these 
Defects light, upon a very brave, and Heroicall 
Nature; which thinketh to make his Naturall 
Wants, part of his Honour : In that it should be 
said, that an Eunuch, or a Lame Man, did such 
great Matters; Affecting the Honour of a Miracle; 
as it was in Narses the Eunuch, and Agesilaus^ 
and Ta7nberlanes, that were Lame men. 

The same, is the Case of Men, that rise after 
Calamities, and Misfortunes; For they are, as 
Men fallen out with the times; And thinke other 
Mens Harmes, a Redemption, of their owne 
Sufferings. 

They, that desire to excell in too many Mat- 



OF ENVY. 31 

ters, out of Levity, and Vaine glory, are ever 
Envious; For they cannot want worke; It being 
impossible, but many, in some one of those 
Things, should surpasse them. Which was the 
Chaiacter of Adrian the Emperour, that mortally 
Envied Poets, and Fainte?'s, and Artificers, in 
Works, wherein he had a veine to excell. 

Lastly, neare Kinsfolks, and Fellowes in Office, 
and those that have beene bred together, are more 
apt to Envy their Equals, when they are raised. 
For it doth upbraid unto them, their owne For- 
tunes; And pointethatthem, andcommeth oftner 
into their remembrance, and incurreth likewise 
more into the note of others: And Envy ever 
redoubleth from Speech and Fame. Cains Envy, 
was the more vile-, and Malignant, towards his 
brother Abel; Because, when his Sacrifice was 
better accepted, there was no Body to looke on. 
Thus much for those that are apt to Envy. 

Concerning those that a7'e moi'e or lesse subject 
to Envy : First, Persons of eminent Vertue, when 
they are advanced, are lesse envied. For their 
Fortune seemeth but due unto them; and no man 
Envieth the Payment of a Debt, but Rewards, 
and Liberality rather. Againe, Envy is ever 
joyned, with the Comparing of a Mans Selfe; 
And where there is no Comparison, no Envy ; 
And therfore Kings, are not envied, but by Kings. 



32 ESS A YES. 

Neverthelesse, it is to be noted, that unworthy 
Persons, are most envied, at their first comming 
in, and afterwards overcome it better; wheras 
contrariwise, Persons of Worth, and Merit, are 
most envied, when their Fortune continueth long. 
For by that time, though their Vertue be the 
same, yet it hath not the same Ltistre ; For fresh 
Men grow up, that darken it. 

Persons of Noble Bloud, are lesse envied, in 
their Rising: For it seemeth, but Right, done 
to their Birth. Besides, there seemeth not much 
added to their Fortune; And Eiwy is as the 
Sunne Beames, that beat hotter, upon a Bank or 
steepe rising Ground; then upon a Flat. And 
for the same reason, those that are advanced by 
degrees, are lesse envied, than those that are 
advanced suddainly, and per saltum. 

Those that have joyned with their Honour, 
great Travels, Cares, or Perills, are lesse subject 
to Envy. For Men thinke, that they earne their 
Honours hardly, and pitty them sometimes; And 
Pitty, ever healeth Envy ; Wherefore, you shall 
observe that the more deepe, and sober sort of 
Politique persons, in their Greatnesse, are ever 
bemoaning themselves, what a Life they lead; 
Chanting a Quanta patimur. Not that they feele 
it so, but onely to abate the Edge of Envy. But 
this is to be understood, of Businesse, that is 



OF ENVY. 33 

laid upon Men, and not such as they call unto 
themselves. For Nothing increaseth ^/^z^y more, 
then an unnecessary, and Ambitious Ingrossing 
of Businesse. And nothing doth extinguish 
Envy more, then for a great Person, to preserve 
all other inferiour Officers, in their full Rights, 
and Preheminences, of their Places. For by 
that meanes, there be so many Skreenes betweene 
him, and Envy, 

Above all, those are most subject to Envy, 
which carry the Greatnesse of their Fortunes, in 
an insolent and proud Manner : Being never well, 
but while they are shewing, how great they are, 
Either by outward Pompe, or by Triumphing 
over all Opposition, or Competition; whereas 
Wise men will rather doe sacrifice to Envy ; in 
suffering themselves, sometimes of purpose to be 
crost, and overborne in things, that doe not much 
concerne them. Notwithstanding, so much is 
true; That the Carriage of Greatnesse, in a 
plaine and open manner (so it be without Arro- 
gancy, and Vaine glory) doth draw lesse Emy, 
then if it be in a more crafty, and cunning fash- 
ion. For in that course, a Man doth but disavow 
Fortune; And seemeth to be conscious, of his 
owne want in worth; And doth but teach others 
to Ejtvy him. 

Lastly, to conclude this Part; As we said in 



34 , £SSA YES. 

the beginning, that the Act of Efivy, had some- 
what in it, of Witchcraft ; so there is no other 
Cure of Envy, but the cure of Witchcraft : And 
that is, to remove the Lot (as they call it) & to 
lay it upon another. For which purpose, the 
wiser Sort of great Persons bring in ever upon 
the Stage, some Body, upon whom to derive the 
Envie, that would come upon themselves; Some- 
times upon Ministers, and Servants; Sometimes 
upon Colleagues and Associates; and the like; 
And for that turne, there are never wanting, some 
Persons of violent and undertaking Natures, who 
so they may have Power, and Businesse, will take 
it at any Cost. 

Now to speake of Publique Envy. There is 
yet some good in Publique Envy ; whereas in 
Private, there is none. For Publique Envy is 
as an Ostracisme, that eclipseth Men, when they 
grow too great. And therefore it is a Bridle also 
to Great Ones, to keepe them within Bounds. 

This Efivy, being in the Latine word Invidia, 
goeth in the Moderne languages, by the name of 
Discontentment: Of which we shall speake in 
handling Sedition. It is a disease, in a State, 
like to Infection. For as Infection, spreadeth 
upon that, which is sound, and tainteth it; So 
when Envy, is gotten once into a State, it tra- 
duceth even the best Actions thereof, and turneth 



OF ENVY. 



35 



them into an ill Odour. And therefore, there is 
little won by intermingling of plausible Actions. 
For that doth argue, but a Weaknesse, and Feare 
of Envy, which hurteth so much the more, as it 
is likewise usuall in Infections ; which if you 
feare them, you call them upon you. 

This publique Envy, seemeth to beat chiefly, 
upon principall Officers, or Ministers, rather 
then upon Kings, & Estates themselves. But this 
is a sure Rule, that if the Envy upon the Min- 
ister, be great, when the cause of it, in him, is 
smal; or if the Envyh^ generall, in a manner, 
upon all the Ministers of an Estate; then the 
Envy (though hidden) is truly upon the State it 
selfe. And so much of publike envy or discon- 
tentment, & the difference therof from Private 
Envy, which was handled in the first place. 

We will adde this, in generall, touching the 
Affection of Envy ; that of all other Affections, 
it is the most importune, and continuall. For 
of other Affections, there is occasion given, but 
now and then: And therefore, it was well said, 
Invidia festos dies non agit. For it is ever work- 
ing upon some, or other. And it is also noted, 
that Love and Envy, doe make a man pine, which 
other Affections doe not; because they are not so 
continuall. It is also the vilest Affection, and 
the most depraved; For which cause, it is the 



36 ESSA YES. 

proper Attribute, of the Devill, who is called; 
The JEfivwus Man, that soweth tares amongst the 
wheat by flight. As it alwayes commeth to passe, 
that Envy worketh subtilly, and in the darke; 
And to the prejudice of good things, such as is 
the Wheat. 



X. 

OF LOVE. 

The Stage is more beholding to Love, then the 
Life of Man. For as to the Stage, Love is ever 
matter of Comedies, and now and then of Trage- 
dies: But in Life, it doth much mischief e: 
Sometimes like a Sy?'en ; Sometimes like a Fu?y, 
You may observe, that amongst all the great and 
worthy Persons, (whereof the memory remaineth, 
either Ancient or Recent) there is not One, that 
hath beene transported, to the mad degree of 
Love : which shewes, that great Spirits, and great 
Businesse, doe keepe out this weake Passion. 
You must except, neverthelesse, Marcus Antonius 
the halfe Partner of the Empire of Rome ; and 
Appiiis Claudius the Decemvir, and Law-giver: 
Whereof the former, was indeed a Voluptuous 
Man, and Inordinate; but the latter, was an 
Austere, and wise man: And therefore it seemes 



OF LOVE. 37 

(though rarely) that Love can finde entrance, not 
only into an open Heart; but also into a Heart 
well fortified; if watch be not well kept. It is 
a poore Saying of Epictiriis ; Satis viagnuvi Alter 
Alteii TJieatrum sumus : As if Man, made for the 
contemplation of Heaven, and all Noble Objects, 
should doe nothing, but kneele before a little 
Idoll, and make himself e subject, though not of 
the Mouth (as Beasts are) yet of the Eye; which 
was given him for higher Purposes. It is a 
strange Thing, to note the Excesse of this Pas- 
sion; And how it braves, the Nature, and value 
of things; by this, that the Speaking in a per- 
petuall Hyperbole, is comely in nothing, but in 
Love. Neither is it meerely in the Phrase; For 
whereas it hath beene well said, that the Arch- 
flatterer, with whom all the petty Flatterers have 
Intelligence, is a Mans Selfe; Certainly, the 
Lover is more. For there was never Proud Man, 
thought so absurdly well of himself e, as the Lover 
doth of the Person loved: And therefore, it was 
well said ; That it is impossible to love, and to be 
wise. Neither doth this weaknesse appeare to 
others onely, and not to the Party Loved ; But to 
the Loved, most of all : except the Love be recip- 
roque. For, it is a true Rule, that Love is ever 
rewarded, either with the Reciproque, or with 
an inward, and secret Contempt. But how much 



38 £SSAV£S. 

the more, Men ought to beware of this Passion, 
which loseth not only other things, but it selfe. 
As for the otlier losses, the Poets Relation, doth 
well figure them; That he that preferred Helena, 
quitted the Gifts oijunoy and Pallas. For who- 
soever esteemeth too much of Amorous Affection, 
quitteth both RicJies, and Wisedome. This Pas- 
sion, hath his Flouds, in the very times of 
Weaknesse; which are, great Prosperitie ; and 
great Adversitie ; though this latter hath beene 
lesse observed. Both which times kindle Love, 
and make it more fervent, and therefore shew it 
to be the Childe of Folly. They doe best, who, 
if they cannot but admit Love, yet make it keepe 
Quarter: And sever it wholly, from their serious 
Affaires, and Actions of life : For if it checke 
once with Businesse, it troubleth Mens Fortunes, 
and maketh Men, that they can, no wayes be 
true, to their owne Ends. I know not how, but 
Martiall Men, are given to Love : I thinke it is, 
but as they are given to Wine ; For Perils, com- 
monly aske, to be paid in Pleasures, There is in 
Mans Nature, a secret Inclination, and Motion, 
towards love of others; which, if it be not spent, 
upon some one, or a few, doth naturally spread 
it selfe, towards many; and maketh men become 
Humane, and Charitable; As it is scene some- 
time in Friars. Nuptiall love maketh Mankinde; 



OF GREAT PLACE. 39 

Friendly love perfecteth it; but Wanton love 
Corrupteth, and Imbaseth it. 



XI. 

OF GREAT PLACE. 

Men in Great Place, are thrice Servants : Ser- 
vants of the Soveraigne or State; Servants of 
Fame; and Servants of Businesse. So as they 
have no Freedome; neither in their Persons; 
nor in their Actions; nor in their Times. It is 
a strange desire, to seeke Power, and to lose 
Libertie; Or to seeke Power over others, and to 
loose Power over a Mans Selfe. The Rising 
unto jPlaee is Laborious; And by Paines Men 
come to greater Paines; And it is sometimes 
base; And by Indignities, Men come to Digni- 
ties. The standing is slippery, and the Regresse, 
is either a downefall, or at least an Eclipse, 
which is a Melancholy Thing„ Clim non sis, qui 
fiieris, non esse, cm'velis vivere. Nay, retire Men 
cannot, when they would; neither will they, 
when it were Reason : But are impatient of pri- 
vatenesse, even in Age, and Sicknesse, which 
require the Shadow: Like old Townesmen, that 
will be still sitting at their Street doore; though 
thereby they offer Age to Scorne. Certainly 



40 ESS A YES. 

Great Persons, had need to borrow other Mens 
Opinions; to thinke themselves happy; For if 
they judge by their owne Feeling; they cannot 
finde it : But if they thinke with themselves, what 
other men thinke of them, and that other men 
would faine be as they are, then they are happy, 
as it were by report; When perhaps they finde 
the Contrary within. For they are the first, that 
finde their owne Griefs; though they be the last, 
that finde their own Faults. Certainly, Men in 
Great Fortunes, are strangers to themselves, and 
while they are in the pusle of businesse, they 
have no time to tend their Health, either of 
Body, or Minde. //// Mors gravis incubat, qui 
notus nifjiis oniniluis, ignoius moritur sibi. In 
Place, There is License to doe Good, and Evill; 
wherof the latter is a Curse; For in Evill, the 
best condition is, not to will; The Second, not 
to Can. But Power to doe good, is the true and 
lawfuU End of Aspiring. For good Thoughts 
(though God accept them,) yet towards men, are 
little better then good Dreames; Except they be 
put in Act; And that cannot be without Power, 
and Place; As the Vantage, and Commanding 
Ground. Merit, and good Works, is the End of 
Mans Motion; And Conscience of the same, is 
the Accomplishment of Mans Rest. For if a 
Man, can be Partaker of Gods Theater, he shall 



OF GREAT PLACE. 4 1 

likewise be Partaker of Gods Rest. Et cofiversus 
Deiis, tit aspiceret Opera, qti(Z fecerunt mantis suce, 
videi quod omnia essenf bona nimis ; And then 
the Sabbath. In the Discharge of thy Place, set 
before thee the best Examples; For Imitation, 
is a Globe of Precepts. And after a time, set 
before thee, thine owne Example; And examine 
thy selfe strictly, whether thou didst not best at 
first. Neglect not also the Examples of those, 
that have carried themselves ill, in the same 
Place: Not to set off thy selfe, by taxing their 
Memory; but to direct thy selfe, what to avoid. 
Reforme therfore, without Braverie, or Scandall, 
of former Times, and Persons; but yet set it 
downe to thy selfe, as well to create good Presi- 
dents, as to follow them. Reduce things, to the 
first Institution, and observe, wherin, and how, 
they have degenerate; but yet aske Counsell of 
both Times; Of the Ancient Time, what is best; 
and of the Latter Time, what is fittest. Seeke 
to make thy Course Regular; that Men may know 
before hand what they may expect : But be not 
too positive, and peremptorie; And expresse thy 
selfe well, when thou digressest from thy Rule. 
Preserve the Right of thy Place ; but stirre not 
questions of Jurisdiction : And rather assume thy 
Right, in Silence, and de facto^ then voice it, 
with Claimes, and Challenges. Preserve like- 



42 ESSA YES. 

wise, the Rights of IniQxionx Places ; And thinke 
it more Honour to direct in chiefe, then to be 
busie in all. Embrace, and invite Helps, and 
Advices, touching the Execution of thy Place; 
And doe not drive away such, as bring thee 
Information, as Medlers; but accept of them in 
good part. The vices of Aiithoritie are chiefly 
foure : Delaies ; Corruption ; Roughnesse ; and 
Facilitie. For Delaies; Give easie Accesse; 
Keepe times appointed; Goe through wiCh that 
which is in hand; And interlace not businesse, 
but of necessitie. For Corruption ; Doe not 
onely binde thine owne Hands, or thy Servants 
hands, from taking; but binde the hands of 
Sutours also from offring. For Integritie used 
doth the one; but Integritie professed, and with 
a manifest detestation of Bribery, doth the other„ 
And avoid not onely the Fault, but the Suspicion. 
Whosoever is found variable, and changeth mani- 
festly, without manifest Cause, giveth Suspicion 
of Corruption. Therefore, alwayes, when thou 
changest thine Opinion, or Course, professe it 
plainly, and declare it, together with the Reasons, 
that move thee to change; And doe not thinke to 
steale ito A Servant, or a Favorite, if hee be 
inward, and no other apparent Cause of Esteeme, 
is commonly thought but a By-way, to close Cor- 
ruption, For Roughnesse ; It is a needlesse cause 



OF GREAT PLACE. 43 

of Discontent : Severitie breedeth Feare, but 
Ro7tghfiesse breedeth Hate. Even Reproofes 
from Authoritie, ought to be Grave, and not 
Taunting. As for Facilitic ; It is worse then 
Bribery. For Bribes come but now and then; 
But if Importunitie, or Idle Respects lead a Man, 
he shall never be without. As Salomon saith; 
To respect Persons, is not good ; For such a man 
will transgresse for a pecce of Bread. It is most 
true, that was anciently spoken; A place sheweth 
the Man : And it sheweth some to the better, 
and some to the worse : Omniii?n consensu, capax 
Lnp€7-ij, nisi imperasset ; saith Tacitus of Galba : 
but of Vespasian he saith; Solus Imperantitmt 
Vespasianus mutatus in melius. Though the one 
was meant of Sufficiencie, the other of Manners, 
and Affection. It is an assured Signe, of a worthy 
and generous Spirit, whom j%'?z^?/r amends. For 
Honour is, or should be, the Place of Vertue: 
And as in Nature, Things move violently to their 
Place, and calmely in their Place : So Vertue in 
Ambition is violent, in Authoritie setled and 
calme. All Rising to Great Place, is by a wind- 
ing Staire : And if there be Factions, it is good, 
to side a Mans selfe, whilest hee is in the Rising; 
and to ballance Himselfe, when hee is placed. 
Use the Memory of thy Predecessour fairely, and 
tenderly; For if thou dost not, it is a Debt, will 



44 . £SSA YES. 

sure be paid, when thou art gone. If thou have 
Colleagues, respect them, and rather call them, 
when they looke not for it, then exclude them, 
when they have reason to looke to be called. Be 
not too sensible, or too remembring, of thy Place, 
in Conversation, and private Answers to Suitors; 
But let it rather be said; Wheii he sits in Place , 
he is another Man, 



XII. 

OF BOLDNESSE. 

It is a triviall Grammar Schoole Text, but yet 
worthy a wise Mans Consideration. Question 
was asked of Demosthenes ; What was the Chief e 
Part of an Oratoui'? He answered, ^^//r;;z / what 
next? Action; what next again? Action. He 
said it, that knew it best; And had by nature, 
himselfe, no Advantage, in that he commended. 
A strange thing, that that Part of an Oratour, 
which is but superficiall, and rather the vertue 
of a Player; should be placed so high, above 
those other Noble Parts, of Invention, Elocution, 
and the rest : Nay almost alone, as if it were All 
in All. But the Reason is plaine. There is in 
Humane Nature, generally, more of the Foole, 
then of the Wise; And therfore those faculties, 



OF BOLDNESSE. 45 

by which the Foolish part of Mens Mindes is 
taken, are most potent. Wonderfull like is the 
Case of Boldjiesse, in Civill Businesse; What 
first? Boldnesse ; What Second, and Third? 
Boldnesse. And yet Boldnesse is a Childe of 
Ignorance, and Basenesse, farre inferiour to other 
Parts, But nevertheless, it doth fascinate, and 
binde hand and foot, those, that are either shallow 
in Judgment; or weake in Courage, which are the 
greatest Part; Yea and prevaileth with wise men, 
at weake times. Therfore, we see it hath done 
wonders, in Popular States; but with Senates and 
Princes lesse; And more ever upon the first 
entrance of Bold Persons into Action, then soone 
after; For Boldnesse is an ill keeper of promise. 
Surely, as there are Mouniebanqiies for the 
Naturall Body : So are there Mouniebanqiies for 
the Politique Body: Men that undertake great 
Cures; And perhaps have been Lucky, in two or 
three Experiments, but want the Grounds of 
Science; And therfore cannot hold out. Nay 
you shall see a Bold Fellow, many times, doe 
Mahomels Miracle. Mahomet made the People 
beleeve, that he would call an Hill to him; And 
from the Top of it, offer up his Praiers, for the 
Observers of his Law. The People assembled; 
Mahomet cald the Hill to come to him, againe, 
and againe; And when the Hill stood still, he 



46 ESSA YES. 

was never a whit abashed, but said; If the Hill 
will not come to Maho7}iet, Mahomet wil go to the 
ML So these Men, when they have promised 
great Matters, and failed most shamefully, (yet 
if they have the perfection of Boldnesse) they 
will but slight it over, and make a turne, and no 
more adoe. Certainly, to Men of great Judg- 
ment, Bold Persons, are a Sport to behold; Nay 
and to the Vulgar also, Boldnesse hath somewhat 
of the Ridiculous. For if Absurdity be the 
Subject of Laughter, doubt you not, but great 
Boldnesse is seldome without some Absurdity. 
Especially, it is a Sport to see, when a Bold 
Fellow is out of Countenance; For that puts his 
Face, into a most Shruncken, and woodden Pos- 
ture; As needes it must; For in Bashfulnesse, 
the Spirits doe a little goe and come; but with 
Bold Men, upon like occasion, they stand at a 
stay; Like a Stale at Chesse, where it is no Mate, 
but yet the Game cannot stirre. But this last, 
were fitter for a Satyre, then for a serious 
Observation. This is well to be weighed; That 
Boldnesse is everblinde : For it seeth not dangers, 
and Inconveniences. Therfore, it is ill in Coun- 
sell, good in Execution : So that the right Use of 
Bold persons is, that they never Command in 
Chiefe, but be Seconds, and under the Direction 
of others. For in Counsell, it is good to see 



OF GOODNESSE. 47 

dangers; And in Execution, not to see them, 
except they be very great. 



XIII. 

OF GOODNESSE AND GOODNESSE OF NATURE. 

I TAKE Good7iesse in this Sense, the affecting 
of the VVeale of Men, which is that the Grecians 
call Philanthropia ; And the word Hiimanitie (as 
it is used) is a little too light, to expresse it. 
Goodnesse I call the Habit, and Goodnesse of 
Nature the Inclination. This of all Vertues, and 
Dignities of the Minde, is the greatest; being 
the Character of the Deitie : And without it, 
Man is a Busie, Mischievous, Wretched Thing; 
No better then a Kinde of Verraine. Goodnesse 
answers to the Theologicall Vertue Charitie, and 
admits no Excesse, but Errour. The desire of 
Power in Excesse, caused the Angels to fall; 
The desire of Knowledge in Excesse, caused 
Man to fall; But in Cha?'ity, there is no Excesse; 
Neither can Angell, or Man, come in danger by 
it. The Inclination to Goodnesse, is imprinted 
deepely in the Nature of Man : In so much, that 
if it issue not towards Men, it will take unto 
Other Living Creatures: As it is seen in the 
Turks, a Cruell People, who neverthelesse, are 



48 £SSA YES. 

kinde to Beasts, and give Almes to Dogs, and 
Birds: In so much, as Busbechius reporteth; A 
Christian Boy in Cofistaniinople, had like to have 
been stoned, for gagging, in a waggishnesse, a 
long Billed Fowle. Errours, indeed, in this 
vertue of Goodnesses or Charity, may be com- 
mitted. The Italians have an ungracious 
Proverb; Tanto btion die val niente : So good, 
that he is good for nothing. And one of the 
Doctors of Italy, Nicholas Macciavel, had the 
confidence to put in writing, almost in plaine 
Termes : That the Christiafi Faith, had given up 
Good Men, in prey, to those, that are Tyrannicall, 
and unjust. Which he spake, because indeed 
there was never Law, or Sect, or Opinion, did so 
much magnifie Goodnesse, as the Christian Reli- 
gion doth. Therfore to avoid the Scandall, and 
the Danger both; it is good to take knowledge, 
of the Errours, of an Habit, so excellent. Seeke 
the Good of other Men, but be not in bondage, 
to their Faces, or Fancies; For that is but Facili- 
tie, or Softnesse; which taketh an honest Minde 
Prisoner. Neither give thou ^sops Cocke a 
Gemme, who would be better pleased, and hap- 
pier, if he had had a Barly Corne. The Example 
of God teacheth the Lesson truly : He sendeth his 
Raijie, and niaketh his Su7ine to shine, upon the 
Just, a?id Unjust; But hee doth not raine Wealth, 



OF GOODNESSE. 49 

nor shine Honour, and Vertues, upon Men 
equally. Common Benefits, are to be commu- 
nicate with all; But peculiar Benefits, with 
choice. And beware, how in making the Por- 
traiture, thou breakest the Patterne : For Divini- 
tie maketh the Love of our Selves the Patterne; 
The Love of our Neighbours but the Portraiture. 
Sell all thou hast, and give it to the poo7-e, and fol- 
low mee : But sell not all thou hast, except thou 
come, and follow mee; That is, except thou 
have a Vocation, wherin thou maist doe as much 
good, with little meanes, as with great: For 
otherwise, in feeding the Streames, thou driest 
the Fountaine. Neither is there only a Habit oi 
Goodnesse, directed by right Reason; but there 
is, in some Men, even in Nature, a Disposition 
towards it: As on the other side, there is a 
Naturall Malignitie. For there be, that in their 
Nature, doe not affect the Good of Others. The 
lighter Sort of Malignitie, turneth but to a Cros- 
nesse, or Frowardnesse, or Aptnesse to oppose, 
or Dif^cilnesse, or the like; but the deeper Sort, 
to Envy, and meere Mischiefe. Such Men, in 
other mens Calamities, are, as it were, in season, 
and are ever on the loading Part; Not so good 
as the Dogs, that licked Lazai'us Sores; but like 
Flies, that are still buzzing, upon any Thing that 
is raw; Misanthropi, that make it their Practise, 



50 ESSA YES. 

to bring Men, to the Bough; And yet have never 
a Tree, for the purpose, in their Gardens, as 
Timon had. Such Dispositions, are the very 
Errours of Humane Nature : And yet they are the 
fittest Timber, to make great Politiques of : Like 
to knee Timber, that is good for Ships, that are 
ordained, to be tossed; But not for Building 
houses, that shall stand firme. The Parts and 
Signes of Goodiiesse are many. If a Man be 
Gracious, and Curteous to Strangers, it shewes, 
he is a Citizen of the World; And that his Heart, 
is no Island, cut off from other Lands; but a 
Continent, that joynes to them. If he be Com- 
passionate, towards the Afflictions of others, it 
shewes that his Heart is like the noble Tree, that 
is wounded it selfe, when it gives the Balme. If 
he easily Pardons and Remits Offences, it shews, 
that his Minde is planted above Injuries; So 
that he cannot be shot. If he be Thankful! for 
small Benefits, it shewes, that he weighes Mens 
Mindes, and not their Trash. But above all, if 
he have S\ Pauls Perfection, that he would wish 
to be an Anatheina from Christy for the Salvation 
of his Brethren, it shewes much of a Divine 
Nature, and a kinde of Conformity with CJuHst 
himselfe. 



OF NOBILITY. 51 



XIIII. 

OF NOBILITY. 

We will speake of Nobility, first as a Portion 
of an Estate ; Then as a Condition of Particular 
Persofis, A Monarchy, where there is no Nobility 
at all, is ever a pure, and absolute Tyranny ; As 
that of the Turkes. For Nobility attempers 
Sove?-aignty, and drawes the Eyes of the People, 
somewhat aside from the Line Royall. But for 
Democracies, they need it not; And they are 
commonly, more quiet, and lesse subject to Sedi- 
tion, then where there are Stirps of Nobles. For 
Mens Eyes are upon the Businesse, and not upon 
the Persons : Or if upon the Persons, it is for the 
Businesse sake, as fittest, and not for Flags and 
Pedegree. Wee see the Switzers last well, not- 
withstanding their Diversitie of Religion, and of 
Cantons. For Utility is their Bond, and not 
Respects. The united Provinces of the Low 
Countries, in their Government, excell: For 
where there is an Equality, the Consultations are 
more indifferent, and the Payments and Tributes 
more cheerfull. A great and Potent Nobility 
addeth Majestic to a Monarch, but diminisheth 



52 ESS A YES. 

Power; And putteth Life and Spirit into the 
People, but presseth their Fortune. It is well, 
when Nobles are not too great for Soveraignty, 
nor for Justice; And yet maintained in that 
heigth, as the Insolencie of Inferiours, may be 
broken upon them, before it come on too fast 
upon the Majesty of Kings. A Numerous Nobility, 
causeth Poverty, and Inconvenience in a State : 
For it is a Surcharge of Expence; And besides, 
it being of Necessity, that many of the Nobility, 
fall in time to be weake in Fortune, it maketh a 
kinde of Disproportion, betvveene Honour and 
Meanes. 

As for Nobility in pai-ticular Persons ; It is a 
Reverend Thing, to see an Ancient Castle, or 
Building not in decay; Or to see a faire Timber 
Tree, sound and perfect: How much more, to 
behold an Ancient Noble Family, which hath 
stood against the Waves and weathers of Time. 
For new Nobility is but the Act of Power; But 
Ancient Nobility is the Act of Time. Those that 
are first raised to Nobility, are commonly more 
Vertuous, but lesse Innocent, then their Descend- 
ants : For there is, rarely, any Rising, but by a 
Commixture, of good and evill Arts. But it is 
Reason, the Memory of their vertues, remaine to 
their Posterity; And their Faults die with them- 
selves. Nobility of Birth, commonly abateth 



OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 53 

Industry: And he that is not industrious, envieth 
him, tliat is. Besides, Noble persons, cannot goe 
much higher; And he that standeth at a stay, 
when others rise, can hardly avoid Motions of 
Envy. On the other side, Nobility extinguisheth 
the passive Envy, from others towards them; 
Because they are in possession of Honour. Cer- 
tainly Kings, that have Able men of their Nobility, 
shall finde case in imploying them; And a better 
Slide into their Businesse : For People naturally 
bend to them, as borne in some sort to Command. 



XV. 

OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 

Shepheards of People, had need know the 
Kalenders of Tempests in State ; which are com- 
monly greatest, when Things grow to Equality; 
As Naturall Tempests are greatest about the 
^quiiioctia. And as there are certaine hollow 
Blasts of Winde, and secret Swellings of Seas, 
before a Tempest, so are there in States : — 

Ille etiani ccecos 177 stare Twnnltus 



Scepe monet, Fraudesque, (Sr* operta tiimescere Bella. 

Libels, and licentious Discourses against the 
State, when they are frequent and open; And in 



54 £SSA YES. 

like sort, false Newes, often running up and 
downe, to the disadvantage of the State, and 
hastily embraced; are amongst the Signes of 
Troubles, Virgil giving the Pedegre of Fame, 
saith. She was sister to the Giants. 

Jlla?n Ten-a Parens ird irritata Deorufn, 
Extre77iam {utperhibent) Cceo Enceladoque sorore?n 
Proge7iuit. — 

As if Fames were the Reliques of Seditions past; 
But they are no lesse, indeed, the preludes of 
Seditiofis to come. Howsoever, he noteth it right, 
that Seditious Tumults, and Seditious Fames, dif- 
fer no more, but as Brother and Sister, Masculine 
and Feminine; Especially, if it come to that, 
that the best Actions of a State, and the most 
plausible, and which ought to give greatest Con- 
tentment, are taken in ill Sense, and traduced: 
For that shev/es the Envy great, as Tacitus saith; 
Confiata tnagna Jnvidia, setc bene, sen male, gesta 
prejnunt. Neither doth it follow, that because 
these Fames, are a signe of Troubles, that the 
suppressing of them, with too much Severity, 
should be a Remedy of Troubles, For the De- 
spising of them, many times, checks them best; 
and the Going about to stop them, doth but 
make a Wonder Long-lived. Also that kinde of 
Obedience, which Tacitus speaketh of, is to be 



OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 55 

held suspected; Erant in officio, sed tamen qui 
mallent inandata Impera^itiinn interpj-etari, qiid?n 
exeqici ; Disputing, Excusing, Cavilling upon 
Mandates and Directions, is a kinde of shak- 
ing off the yoake, and Assay of disobedience: 
Especially, if in those disputings, they, which 
are for the direction, speake fearefully, and 
tenderly; And those that are against it, auda- 
ciously. 

Also, as iJ/i2<f^/.^z'<?/noteth well; when Princes, 
that ought to be Common Parents, make them- 
selves as a Party, and leane to a side, it is as a 
Boat that is overthrowen, by uneven weight, on 
the one Side; As was well seen, in the time of 
Henry the third of France : For first, himselfe 
entred League for the Extirpation of the Protes- 
tants ; and presently after, the same League was 
turned upon Himselfe. For when the Authority 
of Princes, is made but an Accessary to a Cause; 
And that there be other Bands, that tie faster, 
then the Band of Soveraignty, Kings begin to be 
put almost out of Possession. 

Also, when Discords, and Quarrells, and Fac- 
tions, are carried openly, and audaciously; it is 
a Signe, the Reverence of Government is lost. 
For the Motions of the greatest persons, in a 
Government, ought to be, as the Motions of the 
Planets, under Prijnum Mobile; (according to 



56 ESS A YES. 

the old Opinion :) which is, That Every of them, 
is carried swiftly, by the Highest Motion, and 
softly in their owne Motion. And therfore, when 
great Ones, in their owne particular Motion, 
move violently, and, as Tacitus expresseth it well, 
Liberius, quam ut Imperantium me minis s ent ; It 
is a Signe, the Orbs are out of Frame. For Rev- 
erence is that, wherwith Princes are girt from 
God; Who threatneth the dissolving thereof; 
Solvam cingula Re gum. 

So when any of the foure Pillars of Govern- 
ment, are mainly shaken, or weakned, (which are 
Religio7i, Justice, Couiisell, and Treasure) , Men 
had need to pray for Faire Weather. But let us 
passe from this Part of Predictions, (Concerning 
which, neverthelesse, more light may be taken, 
from that which follovveth:) And let us speake 
first of the Materials ol Seditions; Then of the 
Motives of them; And thirdly of the Re?nedies. 

Concerning the Materialls of Seditions. It is a 
Thing well to be considered : For the surest way 
to prevent Seditions, (if the Times doe beare it,) 
is to take away the Matter of them. For if there 
be Fuell prepared, it is hard to tell, whence the 
Spark shall come, that shall set it on Fire. The 
Matter of Seditions is of two kindes; Much Pov- 
erty, and MiLch Discontentment. It is certaine, 
so many Overthrowne Estates, so many Votes for 



OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 57 

Troubles. Ltican noteth well the State of Roine^ 
before the Civill Warre. 

Hinc Usura vorax, rapidiimqiie in tempore Foenus, 
Hinc conciissa Fides, &= vmltis utile Beilum. 

This same Multis utile Belluin, is an assured 
and infallible Signe, of a State, disposed to 
Seditions, and Troubles. And if this Poverty, and 
Broken Estate, in the better Sort, be joynedwith 
a Want and Necessity, in the meane People, the 
danger is imminent, and great. For the Rebel- 
lions of the Belly are the worst. As for Diseo7i- 
tentments, they are in the Politique Body, like to 
Humours in the Naturall, which are apt to gather 
a preternaturall Heat, and to Enflame. And let 
no Prince measure the Danger of them, by this; 
whether they be Just, or Unjust? For that were 
to imagine People to be too reasonable; who doe 
often spurne at their owne Good: Nor yet by 
this; whether the Grief es, wherupon they rise, be 
in fact, great or small: For they are the most 
dangerous Discontentments, where the Feare is 
greater then the Feeling. Dolendi Modus, Ti- 
mendi non item. Besides, in great Oppressions, 
the same Things, that provoke the Patience, doe 
withall mate the Courage : But in Feares it is not 
so. Neither let any Prince, or State, be secure 
concerning Discontentments, because they have 



58 ESSAYES. 

been often, or have been long and yet no Perill 
hath ensued; For as it is true, that every Vapor, 
or Fume, doth not turne into a Storme; So it is, 
neverthelesse, true, that Stormes, though they 
blow over divers times, yet may fall at last; And 
as the Spanish Proverb noteth well; The cord 
breaketh at the last by the iveakest pull. 

The Causes and Motives of Seditions are ; Inno- 
vation in Religion ; Taxes ; Alteration of Lawes 
and Customes ; Breaking of Priviledges ; Generall 
Oppression ; Advance77ie7it of unworthy pei'sons ; 
Strangers ; Dearths ; Disbanded Souldiers ; Tac- 
tions growfte desperate ; And whatsoever in offend- 
ing People, joyneth and knitteth them, in a 
Common Cause. 

For the Remedies ; There may be some generall 
Preservatives, whereof wee will speake; As for the 
just Cure, it must answer to the Particular Dis- 
ease : And so be left to Counsell, rather then Rule. 

The first Remedy or prevention, is to remove 
by all meanes possible, that matcriall Cause of 
Sedition, wherof we spake; which is Want and 
Poverty in the Estate, To which purpose, serveth 
the Opening, and well Ballancing of Trade; The 
Cherishing of Manufactures; the Banishing of 
Idlenesse; the Repressing of waste and Excesse 
by Sumptuary Lawes; the Improvement and Hus- 
banding of the Soyle; the Regulating of Prices 



OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBIES. Kg 

of things vendible; the Moderating of Taxes and 
Tributes; And the like. Generally, it is to be 
foreseene, that the Population of a Kingdome, 
(especially if it be not mowen downe by warrs) 
doe not exceed, the Stock of the Kingdome, 
which should maintaine them. Neither is the 
Population, to be reckoned, onely by number: 
For a smaller Number, that spend more, and 
earne lesse, doe weare out an Estate, sooner then 
a greater Number, that live lower, and gather 
more. Therefore the Multiplying of Nobilitie, 
and other Degrees of Qualitie, in an over Pro- 
portion, to the Common People, doth speedily 
bring a State to Necessitie : And so doth likewise 
an overgrowne Clergie; For they bring nothing 
to the Stocke; And in like manner, when more 
are bred Schollers, then Preferments can take off. 
It is likewise to be remembred, that for as 
much as the increase of any Estate, must be upon 
the Forrainer, (for whatsoever is some where 
gotten, is some where lost) There be but three 
Things, which one Nation selleth unto another; 
The Commoditie as Nature yeeldeth it; The 
Manufacture ; and the Vecture or Carriage. So 
that if these three wheeles goe. Wealth will flow 
as in a Spring tide. And it commeth many times 
to passe, that Materiam superabit Opus ; That 
the Worke, the Carriage, is more worth, then the 



6o ESSA YES. 

Materiall, and enricheth a State more; As is 
notably seene in the Low-Countrey-men, who 
have the best Mines, above ground, in the World. 

Above all things, good Policie is to be used, 
that the Treasure and Moneyes, in a State, be 
not gathered into few Hands. For otherwise, a 
State may have a great Stock, and yet starve. 
And Money is like Muck, not good except it be 
spread. This is done, chiefly, by suppressing, 
or at the least, keeping a strait Hand, upon the 
Devouring Trades of Usurie, Ingrossingy great 
Pasturages y and the like. 

For Removing Discontentments^ or at least, the 
danger of them; There is in every State (as we 
know) two Portions of Subjects ; The Noblesse y 
and the Co?nnionaltie. When one of these is 
Discontent, the danger is not great; For Com- 
mon People, are of slow Motion, if they be not 
excited, by the Greater Sort; And the Greater 
Sort are of small strength, except the Multitude, 
be apt and ready, to move of themselves. Then 
is the danger, when the Greater Sort doe but wait 
for the Troubling of the Waters, amongst the 
Meaner, that then they may declare themselves. 
The Poets faigne, that the rest of the Gods, would 
have hound Jupiter ; which he hearing of, by the 
Counsell of Pallas, sent for Briaretis, with his 
hundred Hands, to come in to his Aid. An 



OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 6 1 

Embleme, no doubt, to shew, how safe it is for 
Monarchs, to make sure of the good Will of 
Common People. 

To give moderate Liberty, for Griefes, and 
Discontentments to evaporate, (so it be without 
too great Insolency or Bravery) is a safe Way. 
For he that turneth the Humors backe, and 
maketh the Wound bleed inwards, endangereth 
maligne Ulcers, and pernicious Impostumations. 

The Part of Epi?netheus, mought well become 
Prometheus, in the case of Discontentments ; For 
there is not a better provision against them. 
Epi7netheus, when Griefes and Evils flew abroad, 
at last shut the lid, and kept Hope in the Bottome 
of the Vessell. Certainly, the Politique and Arti- 
ficiall Nourishing, and Entertaining of Hopes, 
and Carrying Men from Hopes to Hopes ; is one 
of the best Antidotes, against the Poyson of Dis- 
contentments. And it is a certaine Signe, of a 
wise Government, and Proceeding, when it can 
hold Mens hearts by Hopes, Vv^hen it cannot by 
Satisfaction : And when it can handle things, in 
such manner, as no Evill shall appeare so per- 
emptory, but that it hath some Out-let of Hope : 
Which is the lesse hard to doe, because both par- 
ticular Persons, and Factions, are apt enough to 
flatter themselves, or at least to brave that, which 
they beleeve not. 



62 ESSA YES. 

Also, the Foresight, and Prevention, that there 
be no likely or fit Head, whereunto Discontented 
Persons may resort, and under whom they may 
joyne, is a knowne, but an excellent Point of 
Caution. I understand a fit Head, to be one, 
that hath Greatnesse, & Reputation; That hath 
Confidence with the Discontented Party; and 
upon whom they turne their Eyes; And that is 
thought discontented in his own particular; which 
kinde of Persons, are either to be wonne, and 
reconciled to the State, and that in a fast and 
true manner; Or to be fronted, with some other, 
of the same Party, that may oppose them, and so 
divide the reputation. Generally, the Dividing 
and Breaking of all Factions, and Combinations 
that are adverse to the State, and setting them at 
distance, or at least distrust amongst themselves, 
is not one of the worst Remedies. For it is a des- 
perate Case, if those, that hold with the Proceed- 
ing of the State, be full of Discord and Faction; 
And those that are against it, be entire and united. 

I have noted, that some witty and sharpe 
Speeches, which have fallen from Princes, have 
given fire to Seditions. Ccesar did himselfe 
infinite Hurt, in that Speech; Sytta nescivit Li- 
teras, non potuit dictare ; For it did, utterly, cut 
off that Hope, which Men had entertained, that 
he would, at one time or other, give over his 



OF SEDITIONS AND TROUBLES. 63 

Dictatorship. Galba undid himselfe by that 
Speech; Legi a se Militem^ non enii : For it put 
the Souldiers, out of Hope, of the Donative. 
Probus likewise, by that Speech; Si vixerOj non 
opus ei'it aviplihs Romano Imperio militibus. A 
Speech of great Despaire, for the Souldiers: 
And many the like. Surely, Pjinces had need, 
in tender Matters, and Ticklish Times, to beware 
what they say; Especially in these short Speeches, 
which flie abroad like Darts, and are thought to 
be shot out of their secret Intentions. For as 
for large Discourses, they are flat Things, and 
not so much noted. 

Lastly, let Princes, against all Events, not be 
without some Great Person, one, or rather more, 
of Military Valour neere unto them, for the 
Repressing of Seditions, in their beginnings. 
For without that, there useth to be more trepi- 
dation in Court, upon the first Breaking out of 
Ti'oubleSy then were fit. And the State runneth 
the danger of that, which Tacitus saith; Atque is 
Habitus animo7'um fuit, ut pessiniu77i facijius au- 
derent Fauci, Plures vellent, Onines paterentur. 
But let such Military Persons, be Assured, and 
well reputed of, rather then Factious, and Popu- 
lar; Holding also good Correspondence, with 
the other Great Men in the State ; Or else the 
Remedie, is v/orse then the Disease. 



64 ^SSA YES. 

XVI. 

OF ATHEISME. 

I HAD rather beleeve all the Fables in the 
Legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoran, then 
that this universall P'rame, is without a Minde. 
And therefore, |God never wrought Miracle, to 
convince Atheisme, because his Ordinary Works 
convince it. / It is true, that a little Philosophy 
inclineth Mans Minde to Atheisme ; But depth 
in Philosophy, bringeth Mens Mindes about to 
Religion : For while the Minde of Man, looketh 
upon Second Causes Scattered, it may sometimes 
rest in them, and goe no further: But when it 
beholdeth, the Chaine of them. Confederate and 
Linked together, it must needs flie \.o Providence, 
and Deitie. Nay even that Schoole, which is 
most accused of Atheisme, doth most demonstrate 
Religion; That is, the Schoole of Leiicippus, and 
Dcmocritus, and Epicurus. For it is a thousand 
times more Credible, that foure Mutable Ele- 
ments, and one Immutable Fift Essence, duly 
and Eternally placed, need no God; then that 
an Army, of Infinite small Portions, or Seedes 
unplaced, should have produced this Order, and 



OF ATHEISME. 65 

Beauty, without a Divine Marshall. The Scrip- 
ture saith; The Foole hath said in his Hearty there 
is no God: It is not said; The Foole hath thought 
in his Heart : So as, he rather saith it by rote to 
himself e, as that he would have, then that he can 
thoroughly beleeve it, or be perswaded of it. 
For none deny there is a God, but those, for 
whom it maketh that there were no God. It 
appeareth in nothing more, \}i\dX Atheisme is rather 
in the Lip, then in the Heai-t of Man, then by 
this; That Atheists will ever be talking of that 
their Opinion, as if they fainted in it, within 
themselves, and would be glad to be strengthned, 
by the Consent of others : Nay more, you shall 
have Atheists strive to get Disciples, as it fareth 
with other Sects: And, which is most of all, you 
shall have of them, that will suffer for Atheisme, 
and not recant; Wheras, if they did truly thinke, 
that there were no such Thing as God, why should 
they trouble themselves? Epicurus is charged, 
that he did but dissemble, for his credits sake, 
when he affirmed ; There were Blessed Natures, 
but such as enjoyed themselves, without having 
respect to the Government of the World. Wherin, 
they say, he did temporize; though in secret, he 
thought, there was no God. But certainly, he is 
traduced; For his Words are Noble and Divine: 
Non Deos vulgi negaj-e profa7ium ; sed vulgi Opini- 

F 



66 ESS A YES. 

ones Dijs applicare p7'ofanum. Plato could have 
said no more. And although, he had the Con- 
fidence, to deny the Adnii?iistratioii, he had not 
the Power to deny the Nature. The Indians of 
the West, have Names for their particular Gods, 
though they have no name for God: As if the 
Heathens, should have had the Names Jupiter, 
Apollo, Mars, &c. But not the Word Dens : 
which shewes, that even those Barbarous People, 
have the Notion, though they have not the Lati- 
tude, and Extent of it. So that against Atheists, 
the very Savages take part, with the very subtillest 
Philosophers. The Contemplative Atheist is 
rare; A Diagoras, 2iBion, a Lucian perhaps, and 
some others; And yet they seeme to be more 
then they are; For that, all that Impugne a 
received Religion, or Superstition, are by the 
adverse Part, branded with the Name of Atheists. 
But the great Atheists, indeed, are Hypocrites ; 
which are ever Handling Holy Things, but with- 
out Feeling. So as they must needs be cauterized 
in the End. The Causes oi Atheisine are; Divi- 
sions in Religion, if they be many; For any one 
maine Division, addeth Zeale to both Sides; But 
many Divisions introduce Atheisine. Another 
is, Scandall oi Priests ; When it is come to that, 
which S. Bernard saith; Non est jam dicere, ut 
Populus, sic Sacerdos : quia nee sic Populus, ut 



OF ATHEISME. 6/ 

Sacerdos. A third is, Custome of Frofa?ie Scoff- 
ing in Holy Mailers ; which doth, by little and 
little, deface the Reverence of Religion. And 
lastly, Learned Times, specially with Peace, and 
Prosperity: For Troubles and Adversities doe 
more bow Mens Mindes to Religion. They that 
deny a God, destroy Mans Nobility: For cer- 
tainly, Man is of Kinne to the Beasts, by his 
Body; And if, he be not of Kinne to God, by 
his Spirit, he is a Base and Ignoble Creature. It 
destroies likewise Magnanimity, and the Raising 
of Plumane Nature: For take an Example of a 
Dog; And mark what a Generosity, and Courage 
he will put on, when he findes himselfe main- 
tained, by a Man; who to him is in stead of a 
God, or Melior Nalura : which courage is mani- 
festly such, as that Creature, without that Confi- 
dence, of a better Nature, then his owne, could 
never attaine. So Man, when he resteth and 
assureth himselfe, upon divine Protection, and 
Favour, gathereth a Force and Faith; which 
Humane Nature, in it selfe, could not obtaine. 
Therefore, as Atheisme is in all respects hatefull, 
so in this, that it depriveth humane Nature, of 
the Meanes, to exalt it selfe, above Humane 
Frailty. As it is in particular Persons, so it is 
in Nations: Never was there such a State, for 
Magnanimity, as Rotne : Of this State heare what 



68 ESSA YES. 

Cicero saith; Quam vohunus, licet, patres co7i- 
scripti, 1103 ameniiis, tavieii nee numero Hispanos, 
nee roboj'e Gallos, nee ealliditate Fcenos, nee arti- 
bus GrcBcos, nee deniqiie hoe ipso hnjus Gentis 6^ 
Terj'CR doniestico naiivoque sensii Italos ipsos 6^ 
Latinos ; sed Pietate, ae Religione, atque hde una 
Sapientid, quod Deorum Immortaliuni Nuinine, 
otnnia regi, gubernariqiie perspexiinus, onines 
Gentes Natio7iesque superavimus. 



XVII. 

OF SUPERSTITION. 

It were better to have no Opinion of God at 
all; then such an Opinion, as is unworthy of him : 
For the one is Unbeleefe, the other is Contumely : 
And certainly Superstition is the Reproach of the 
Deity. Plutarch saith well to that purpose: 
Surely (saith he) / had ratlier, a great deale, Men 
should say J thei-e 7vas no such Man, at all, as Plu- 
tarch ; then that they should say, that there was one 
Plutarch, that would eat his Children, as soon as 
they were borne, as the Poets speake of Saturne. 
And, as the Contumely is greater towards God, 
so the Danger is greater towards Men. Atheisme 
leaves a Man to Sense; to Philosophy; to Naturall 
Piety; to Lawes; to Reputation; All which may 



OF SUPERSTITION, 69 

be Guides to an outward Morall vertue, though 
Religion yN^xQ not; But Superstition dismounts all 
these, and erecteth an absolute Monarchy, in the 
Mindes of Men. Therefore Aiheisme did never 
perturbe States ; For it makes Men wary of them- 
selves, as looking no further; And we see the 
times enclined to Atheisme (as the Time of 
Augustus Ccesar) were civil Times. But Super- 
stitioti, hath beene the Confusion of many States; 
And bringeth in a new Primum Mobile^ that rav- 
isheth all the Spheares of Government. The 
Master of Supeistition is the People; And in all 
Superstition, Wise Men follow Fooles; And Argu- 
ments are fitted to Practise, in a reversed Order. 
It was gravely said, by some of the Prelates, in 
the Councell of Trent, where the doctrine of the 
Schoolemen bare great Sway; TJiat the Schoole- 
men were like Astronomers, which did faigfie 
Eccentricks and Epicycles, and such Engines of 
Orbs, to save the Fhejioniena ; though they knew, 
there were no such Things : And, in like manner, 
that the Schoolmen, had framed a Number of 
subtile and intricate Axiomes, and Theorems, to 
save the practise of the Church. The Causes of 
SiLpei'stition are : Pleasing and sensuall Rites and 
Ceremonies : Excesse of Outward and Pharisai- 
call Holinesse; Over-great Reverence of Tradi- 
tions, which cannot but load the Church; The 



JO ESS A YES. 

Stratagems of Prelates for their owne Ambition 
and Lucre: The Favouring too much of good 
Intentions, which openeth the Gate to Conceits 
and Novelties; The taking an Aime at divine 
Matters by Human, which cannot but breed 
mixture of Imaginations; And lastly. Barbarous 
Times, Especially joyned with Calamities and 
Disasters. Superstition, without a vaile, is a 
deformed Thing; For, as it addeth deformity to 
an Ape, to be so like a Man; So the Similitude 
of Superstition to Religion, makes it the more 
deformed. And as wholesome Meat corrupteth 
to little Wormes; So good Formes and Orders, 
corrupt into a Number of petty Observances. 
There is a Superstition, in avoiding Superstition ; 
when men thinke to doe best, if they goe furthest 
from the Superstition formerly received : There- 
fore, Care would be had, that, (as it fareth in ill 
Purgings) the Good be not taken away, with the 
Bad; which commonly is done, when the People 
is the Reformer. 



XVIII. 

OF TRA VAILE. 

Travaile, in the younger Sort, is a Part of 
Education; In the Elder, a Part of Experience. 



OF TRAVAILE. 7 1 

He that travaileth into a Country, before he 
hath some Entrance into the Language, goeth to 
Schoole^ and not to Travaile. That Young Men 
travaile under some Tutor, or grave Servant, I 
allow well; So that he be such a one, that hath 
the Language, and hath been in the Country 
before; whereby he may be able to tell them, 
what Things are worthy to be scene in the Coun- 
try where they goe; what Acquaintances they are 
to seeke; What Exercises or discipline the Place 
yeeldeth. For else young Men shall goe hooded, 
and looke abroad little. It is a strange Thing, 
that in Sea voyages, where there is nothing to be 
seene, but Sky and Sea, Men should make Diaries; 
but in Land- Travaile, wherin so much is to be 
observed, for the most part, they omit it; As if 
Chance, were fitter to be registred, then Observa- 
tion. Let Diaries, therefore, be brought in use. 
The Things to be seene and observed are : The 
Courts of Princes, specially when they give Audi- 
ence to Ambassadours : The Courts of Justice, 
while they sit and heare Causes; And so of Con- 
sistories Ecclesiasticke : The Churches, and Mon- 
asteries, with the Monuments which are therein 
extant: The Wals and Fortifications of Cities 
and Townes; And so the Havens & Harbours: 
Antiquities, and Ruines: Libraries; Colledges, 
Disputations, and Lectures, where any are: 



72 



ESSA YES. 



Shipping and Navies: Houses, and Gardens of 
State, and Pleasure, neare great Cities : Armories : 
Arsenals: Magazens: Exchanges: Burses; Ware- 
houses: Exercises of Horsemanship; Fencing; 
Trayning of Souldiers; and the like : Comedies; 
Such wherunto the better Sort of persons dOe 
resort; Treasuries of Jewels, and Robes; Cab- 
inets, and Rarities: And to conclude, whatso- 
ever is memorable in the Places; where they goe. 
After all which, the Tutors or Servants, ought 
to make diligent Enquirie. As for Triumphs; 
Masques; Feasts; Weddings; Funeralls; Capi- 
tall Execution; and such Shevves; Men need not 
to be put in mind of them; Yet are they not to 
be neglected. If you will have a Young Man, 
to put his Travaile, into a little Roome, and in 
short time, to gather much, this you must doe. 
First, as was said, he must have some Entrance 
into the Language, before he goeth. Then he 
must have such a Servant, or Tutor, as knoweth 
the Country, as was likewise said. Let him carry 
with him also some Card or Booke describing the 
Country, where he travelleth; which will be a 
good Key to his Enquiry. Let him keepe also a 
Diary. Let him not stay long in one Citty, or 
Towne; More or lesse as the place deserveth, but 
not long: Nay, when he stayeth in one City or 
Towne, let him change his Lodging, from one 



OF TRAVAILE. 73 

End and Part of the Towne, to another; which 
is a great Adamant of Acquaintance. Let him 
sequester himselfe from the Company of his 
Country men, and diet in such Places, where 
there is good Company of the Nation, where he 
travaileth. Let him upon his Removes, from 
one place to another, procure Recommendation, 
to some person of Quality, residing in the Place, 
whither he removeth; that he may use his Favour, 
in those things, he desireth to see or know. 
Thus he may abridge his Travaik, with much 
profit. As for the acquaintance, which is to be 
sought in Travaile ; That which is most of all 
profitable, is Acquaintance with the Secretaries, 
and Employd Men of Ambassadours; For so in 
Travailing in one Country he shall sucke the 
Experience of many. Let him also see and visit. 
Eminent Persons, in all Kindes, which are of 
great Name abroad; That he may be able to tell, 
how the Life agreeth with the Fame. For Quar- 
els, they are with Care and Discretion to be 
avoided: They are, commonly, for Mistresses; 
Healths; Place; and Words. And let a Man 
beware, how he keepeth Company, with Choler- 
ick and Quarelsome Persons; for they will 
engage him into their owne Quarels. When a 
Travailer returneth home, let him not leave the 
Countries, where he hath Travailed^ altogether 



74 £SSA YES. 

behinde him; But maintaine a Correspondence, 
by letters, with those of his Acquaintance, which 
are of most Worth. And let his Travaile appeare 
rather in his Discourse, then in his Apparrell, or 
Gesture : And in his Discourse, let him be rather 
advised in his Answers, then forwards to tell 
Stories: And let it appeare, that he doth not 
change his Country Manners, for those of For- 
raigne Parts; But onely, prick in some Flowers, of 
that he hath Learned abroad, into the Customes 
of his owne Country. 



XIX. 

OF EMPIRE. 

It is a miserable State of Minde, to have few 
Things to desire, and many Things to feare : And 
yet that commonly is the Case of Kings ; Who 
being at the highest, want Matter of desire, which 
makes their Mindesmore Languishing; And have 
many Representations of Perills and Shadowes, 
which makes their Mindes the lesse cleare. And 
this is one Reason also of that Effect, which the 
Scripture speaketh of; That the Kings Heart is 
i7iscrutable. For Multitude of Jealousies, and 
Lack of some predominant desire, that should 
marshall and put in order all the rest, maketh any 



OF EMPIRE. 75 

Mans Heart, hard to finde, or sound. Hence it 
comes likewise, that Princes, many times, make 
themselves Desires, and set their Hearts upon 
toyes: Sometimes upon a Building; Sometimes 
upon Erecting of an Order; Sometimes upon the 
Advancing of a Person; Sometimes upon obtain- 
ing Excellency in some Art, or Feat of the Hand; 
As Nero for playing on the Harpe, Dotnitian for 
Certainty of the Hand with the Arrow, Corn- 
modus for playing at Fence, Caracalla for driving 
Chariots, and the like. This seemeth incredible 
unto those, that know not the Principle; That 
the Minde of Alan is more cheared, and refreshed, 
by profiting in small things, theii by standing at a 
stay in great. We see also that Kings, that have 
been fortunate Conquerours in their first yeares; 
it being not possible for them to goe forward 
infinitely, but that they must have some Checke 
or Arrest in their Fortunes; turne in their latter 
yeares, to be Superstitious and Melancholy: As 
did Alexander the Great; Dioclesian ; And in 
our memory, Charles the fift; And others: For 
he that is used to goe forward, and findeth a 
Stop, falleth out of his owne favour, and is not 
the Thing he was. 

To speake now of the true Temper of Empire : 
It is a Thing rare, & hard to keep : For both 
Temper & Distemper consist of Contraries. But 



^6 ESSA YES, 

it is one thing to mingle Contraries, another to 
enterchange them. The Answer of Apollonms 
to Vespasian^ is full of Excellent Instruction; 
Vespasian asked him; What was Ne7-ocs over- 
throw? He answered; Nero could touch and 
time the Harpe well ; But in Gover?i7nent, some- 
times he tised to winde the pins too high, so??ieti?nes 
to let them dozvne too low. And certaine it is, 
that Nothing destroieth Authority so much, as 
the unequall and untimely Enterchange of Power 
Pressed too farre, and Relaxed too much. 

This is true; that the wisdome of all these 
latter Times in Princes Affaires, is rather fine 
Deliveries, and Shiftings of Dangers and Mis- 
chief es, when they are neare; then solid and 
grounded Courses to keepe them aloofe. But 
this is but to try Masteries with Fortune : And 
let men beware, how they neglect, and suffer 
^Matter of Trouble, to be prepared : For no Man 
can forbid the Sparke, nor tell whence it may 
come. The difificulties in Princes Businesse, are 
many and great; But the greatest difficulty, is 
often in their owne Minde. For it is common 
with Princes, (saith Tacitus^ to will Contradic- 
tories. Sunt plerumque Regii7n voluntates vehe- 
mentes, (5^ inter se contraiicB. For it is the 
Soloecisme of Power, to thinke to Command the 
End, and yet not to endure the Meane. 



OF EMPIRE. 



77 



Kings have to deale with their Neighbours ; 
their Wives; their Children; their Prelates or 
Clergie ; their Nobles; their Second-Nobles or 
Gentlei7ien ; their Merchajils ; their Commons; 
and their J/^;^ <?/ Wai-re ; And from all these 
arise Dangers, if Care and Circumspection be 
not used. 

First for their Neighbours ; There can no 
generall Rule be given, (The Occasions are so 
variable,) save one; which ever holdeth; which 
is. That Princes doe keepe due Centinell, that 
none of their Neighbours doe overgrow so, (by 
Encrease of Territory, by Embracing of Trade, 
by Approaches, or the like) as they become 
more able to annoy them, then they were. And 
this is, generally, the work of Standing Counsels 
to foresee, and to hinder it. During that Tri- 
umvirate of Kings J King Henry the 8. of Eng- 
la7id, Fraftcis the i. King of France, and Charles 
the 5. Ejnperour, there was such a watch kept, 
that none of the Three, could win a Palme of 
Ground, but the other two, would straightwaies 
ballance it, either by Confederation, or, if need 
were, by a Warre : And would not, in any wise, 
take up Peace at Interest. And the like was 
done by that League (which, Guicciardine saith, 
was the Security of Italy) made betwene Ferdi- 
nando King of Naples ; Lorenzius Medices, and 



y^ ESS A YES. 

Ludovicus Sforza, Potentates, the one of Flo7'ence, 
the other of Millaine. Neither is the Opinion, 
of some of the Schoole-Men, to be received; 
That a warre cannot justly be made, but upon a 
precedefit Injury, or Provocation. For there is 
no Question, but a just Feare, of an Imminent 
danger, though there be no Blow given, is a 
lawful! Cause of a Warre. 

For their Wives ; There are Cruell Examples 
of them. Livia is infamed for the poysoning of 
her husband: Roxolana, Solymans Wife, was the 
destruction, of that renowned Prince, Sultan 
Mustapha ; And otherwise troubled his House, 
and Succession: Edward the Second of Eng- 
land, his Queen, had the principall hand, in the 
Deposing and Murther of her Husband. This 
kinde of danger, is then to be feared, chiefly, 
when the Wives have Plots, for the Raising of 
their owne Children; Or else that they be 
Advoutresses. 

For their Children : The Tragedies, likewise, 
of dangers from them, have been many. And 
generally, the Entring of Fathers, into Suspicion 
of their Childrefi, hath been ever unfortunate. 
The destruction of Mustapha, (that we named 
before) was so fatall to Solyjnans Line, as the 
Succession of the Turks, from Solyman, untill 
this day, is suspected to be untrue, and of strange 



OF EMPIRE. yc) 

Bloud; For that Selymus the Second was thought 
to be Supposititious. The destruction of Cm- 
pus, a young Prince, of rare Towardnesse, by 
Constantiuiis the Great, his Father, was in like 
manner fatall to his House; For both Cons tan- 
tiniis, and Constance^ iiis Sonnes, died violent 
deaths; And Constantiiis his other Sonne, did 
little better; who died, indeed, of Sicknesse, but 
after \h^X.Julianus had taken Armes against him. 
The destruction of Demetrius^ Sonne to PJiilip 
the Second, of Macedon^ turned upon the Father, 
who died of Repentance. And many like Exam- 
ples there are : But few, or none, where the 
Fathers had good by such distrust; Except it 
were, where the Sonnes were up, in open Armes 
against them; As was Selymus the first against 
Bajazet: And the three Sonnes of Henry the 
Second, King of England. 

For their Prelates ; when they are proud and 
great, there is also danger from them : As it was, 
in the times of Anselnius, and Tho?nas Becket, 
Archbishops of Canterbury; who with their Cro- 
siars, did almost try it, with the Kings Sword; 
And yet they had to deale with Stout and Haughty 
Kings; William Rtcfus^ Henry the first, and 
Henry the second. The danger is not from that 
State, but where it hath a dependance of forraine 
Authority; Or where the Churchmen come in, 



So ESS A YES. 

and are elected, not by the Collation of the King, 
or particular Patrons, but by the People. 

For their Nobles ; To keepe them at a distance, 
it is not amisse; But to depresse them, may make 
a King more Absolute, but lesse Safe; And lesse 
able to performe any thing, that he desires. I 
have noted it, in my History of King Henry the 
Seventh, of En^lajid, who depressed \i\'s> Nobility ; 
Whereupon, it came to passe, that his Times were 
full of Difficulties, & Troubles; For the Nobility, 
though they continued loyall unto him, yet did 
they not co-operate with him, in his Businesse. 
So that in effect, he was faine to doe all things, 
himselfe. 

For their Second Nobles ; There is not much 
danger from them, being a Body dispersed. 
They may sometimes discourse high, but that 
doth little Hurt: Besides, they are a Counter- 
poize to the Higher Nobilityy that they grow not 
too Potent: And lastly, being the most immedi- 
ate in Authority, with the Common People, they 
doe best temper Popular Commotions. 

For their Merchants; They are Vena porta ; 
And if they flourish not, a Kingdome may have 
good Limmes, but will have empty Veines, and 
nourish little. Taxes, and Imposts upon them, 
doe seldome good to the Kings Revenew; For 
that that he winnes in the Hundred, he leeseth in 



OF (OOUNSELL. 8 1 

the Shire; The particular Rates being increased, 
but the totall Bulke of Trading rather decreased. 

For their Covunons ; There is little danger 
from them, except it be, where they have Great 
and Potent Heads; Or where you meddle, with 
the Point of Religion; Or their Customes, or 
Meanes of Life. 

For their Men of wai-re ; It is a dangerous 
State, where they live and remaine in a Body, 
and are used to Donatives; whereof we see Ex- 
amples in the Janizaries^ and Fretorian Bands of 
Rome : But Traynings of Men, and Arming them 
in severall places, and under severall Com- 
manders, and without Donatives, are things of 
Defence, and no Danger. 

Princes are like to Heavenly Bodies, which 
cause good or evill times; And which have much 
Venej-ation, but no Rest. All precepts concern- 
ing Kings, are in effect comprehended, in those 
two Remembrances: Metnento quod es Homo; 
And Memento quod es Deus, or Vice Dei. The 
one bridleth their Power, and the other their Will. 

XX. 

OF COUNSELL. 

The greatest Trust, betweene Man and Man, 
is the Trust of Giving CounselL For in other 



82 ESSA YES. 

Confidences, Men commit the parts of life; Their 
Lands, their Goods, their Children, their Credit, 
some particular Affaire ; But to such, as they make 
their Counsellours, they commit the whole : By 
how much the more, they are obliged to all Faith 
and integrity. The wisest Princes, need not 
thinke it any diminution to their Greatnesse, or 
derogation to their Sufficiency, to rely upon 
Counsell. God himselfe is not without : But hath 
made it one of the great Names, of his blessed 
Sonne; The Coiinsellour. Salomon hath pro- 
nounced, that In Counsell is Stability. Things 
will have their first, or second Agitation; If they 
be not tossed upon the Arguments of Connsell, 
they will be tossed upon the Waves of Fortune ; 
And be full of Inconstancy, doing, and undo- 
ing, like the Reeling of a drunken Man. Salo- 
mons Sonne found the Force of Counsell, as his 
Father saw the Necessity of it. For the Beloved 
Kingdome of God was first rent, and broken by 
ill Counsell; Upon which Counsell, there are set, 
for our Instruction, the two Markes, whereby 
Bad Counsell is, for ever, best discerned : That 
it was young Counsell, for the Persons; And 
Violent Counsell, for the Matter. 

The Ancient Times doe set forth in Figure, 
both the Incorporation, and inseparable Conjunc- 
tion of Counsel with Kings ; And the wise and 



OF COUNSELL. 83 

Politique use of Comisell by Kings : The one, in 
that they say, Jupiter did marry Metis, which 
signifieth Counsell: Whereby they intend, that 
Soveraignty is married to Counsell : The other, 
in that which followeth, which was thus : They 
say after Jupiter was married to Metis, she con- 
ceived by him, and was wdth Childe; hwt Jupiter 
suffered her not to stay, till she brought forth, 
but eat her up; Wherby he became himself e with 
Child, and was delivered of Pallas Armed, out of 
his Head. Which monstrous Fable, containeth 
a Secret of Empire ; How Kings are to make use 
of their C ounce II oi State. That first, they ought 
to referre matters unto them, which is the first 
Begetting or Impregnation; But when they are 
elaborate, moulded, and shaped, in the W'ombe 
of their Councell, and grow ripe, and ready to be 
brought forth; That then, they suffer not their 
Councell to goe through with the Resolution, and 
direction, as if it depended on them; But take 
the matter backe into their owne Hands, and 
make it appeare to the world, that the Decrees, 
and finall Directions, (which, because they come 
forth with Prudence, and Power, are resembled 
to Pallas Armed) proceeded from themselves: 
And not onely from their Authority, but (the 
more to adde Reputation to Themselves) from 
their Head, and Device. 



84 ^SSA YES. 

Let us now speake of the Inconveniences of 
Counsellj and of the Remedies, The Incon- 
veniencesj that have been noted in calling, and 
using Counsell, are three. First, the Revealing 
of Affaires, whereby they become lesse Secret. 
Secondly, the Weakning of the Authority of 
Princes, as if they were lesse of Themselves. 
Thirdly, the Danger of being unfaithfully cou7i- 
selled, and more for the good of them that coun- 
sel!, then of him that is comiselled. For which 
Inconveniences, the Doctrine of Italy, and Prac- 
tise of France, in some Kings times, hath intro- 
duced Cabinet Counsels ; A Remedy worse then 
the Disease. 

As to Secj'ecy ; Princes are not bound to com- 
municate all Matters, with all Counsellors ; but 
may extract and select. Neither is it necessary, 
that he that consulteth what he should doe, should 
declare what he will doe. But let Princes beware, 
that the tinsecreting of their Affaires, come not 
from Themselves. And as for Cabinet Counsels, 
it may be their Motto; Plenus 7-imai^uni sum: 
One futile person, that maketh it his glory to tell, 
will doe more hurt, then many, that know it their 
duty to conceale. It is true, there be some 
Affaires, which require extreme Secrecy, which 
will hardly go beyond one or two persons, besides 
the King: Neither are those Counsels unpros- 



OF CO UN SELL, 85 

perous : For besides the Secrecy, they commonly 
goe on constantly in one Spirit of Direction, 
without distraction. But then it must be a Pru- 
dent King, such as is able to Grinde with a Hand- 
Mill ; And those Inward Coiinsellours, had need 
also, be Wise Men, and especially true and trusty 
to the Kings Ends; As it was with King Henry 
the Seventh of England, who in his greatest 
Businesse, imparted himself to none, except it 
were to Morton and Fox. 

For Weakening of Authority ; The Fable sheweth 
the Remedy. Nay the Majesty of Kings, is rather 
exalted, then diminished, when they are in the 
Chaire of Counsell: Neither was there ever 
Pi'ince, bereaved of his Dependances, by his 
Counsell; Except where there hath beene, either 
an Overgreatnesse in one Counsellour, Or an 
Overstrict Combination in Divers; which are 
Things soone found, and holpen. 

For the last Inconvenience, that Men will Coun- 
sell with an Eye to themselves ; Certainly, Non 
inveniet Fidem super ierram, is meant of the 
Nature of Times, and not of all particular Per- 
sons; There be, that are in Nature, Faithfull, 
and Sincere, and Plaine, and Direct; Not Crafty, 
and Involved: Let Princes, above all, draw to 
themselves such Natures. Besides, Counsellom-s 
are not Commonly so united, but that one Coun- 



S6 ESS A YES. 

sellour keepeth Centinell over Another; So that 
if any do Counsell out of Faction, or private 
Ends, it commonly comes to the Kings Eare. 
But the best Remedy is, if Princes know their 
CoimsellotirSf as well as their Cotmsellours know 
Them ; 

Priiicipis est V^irtus maxima nosse suos. 

And on the other side, Counsellours should not 
be too Speculative, into their Soveraignes Per- 
son. The true Composition of a Counsellour, is 
rather to be skilfull in their Masters Businesse, 
then in his Nature; For then he is like to Advise 
him, and not to Feede his Humour. It is of 
singular use to PrinceSy if they take the Opinions 
of their Counsell, both Seperately, and Together. 
For Private Opinion is more free; but Opinion 
before others is more Reverend. In private, 
Men are more bold in their owne Humours; And 
in Consort, Men are more obnoxious to others 
Humours; Therefore it is good to take both: 
And of the inferiour Sort, rather in private, to 
preserve Freedome; Of the greater, rather in 
Consort, to preserve Respect. It is in vaine for 
Princes to take Counsel concerning Matters, if 
they take no Counsell likewise concerning Per- 
sons: For all Matters, are as dead Images; And 
the Life of the Execution of Affaires, resteth in 



OF COUNSELL. ^y 

the good Choice of Persons. Neither is it enough 
to consult concerning Persofis, Secundum genera^ 
as in an Idea, or Mathematicall Desctiption^ 
what the Kinde and Character of the Fersoft 
should be; For the greatest Errours are com- 
mitted, and the most Judgement is shevvne, in 
the choice of Individuals. It was truly said; 
Optimi Consiliarij mortui ; Books will speake 
plaine, when Counsellors Blanch. Therefore it 
is good to be conversant in them; Specially the 
Bookes of such, as Themselves have been Actors 
upon the Stage. 

The Coufisels, at this Day, in most Places, are 
but Familiar Meetings; where Matters are rather 
talked on, then debated. And they run too swift 
to the Order or Act of Counsell. It were better, 
that in Causes of weight, the Matter were pro- 
pounded one day, and not spoken to, till the 
next day; In Node Consilium. So was it done, 
in the Commission of Unio7i, between England 
and Scotland ; which was a Grave and Orderly 
Assembly. I commend set Dales for Petitions : 
For both it gives the Suitors more certainty for 
their Attendance; And it frees the Meetings for 
Matters of Estate, that they may Hoc agere. In 
choice of Committees, for ripening Businesse, 
for the Counsell, it is better to choose Indifferent 
persons, then to make an Indifferency, by putting 



88 ESSA YES. 

in those, that are strong, on both sides. I com- 
mend also standijig Commissions ; As for Trade; 
for Treasure; for Warre; for Suits; for some 
Provinces : For where there be divers particular 
Counsels, and but one Coimselloi Estate, (as it is 
in Spaine) they are in effect no more, then Stand- 
ing Co7nmissions ; Save that they have greater 
Authority. Let such, as are to informe Counsels, 
out of their particular Professions, (as Lawyers, 
Seamen, Mint-men, and the like) be first heard, 
before Committees ; And then, as Occasion serves, 
before the CounselL And let them not come in 
Multitudes, or in a Tribunitious Manner; For 
that is, to clamour Counsels, not to enforme 
them. A long Table, and a square Table, or 
Seats about the Walls, seeme Things of Forme, 
but are Things of Substance; For at a long Table, 
a few at the upper end, in effect, sway all the 
Businesse : But in the other Forme, there is more 
use of the Counsellours Opinions, that sit lower. 
A King, when he presides in Connsell, let him 
beware how he Opens his owne Inclination too 
much, in that which he propoundeth : For else 
Counsellours will but take the Winde of him; 
And in stead of giving Free Counsell, sing him 
a Song of Placebo. 



OF DELA YES. 89 



XXI. 

OF DELAYES. 

Fortune is like the Market ; Where many 
times, if you can stay a little, the Price will fall. 
And againe, it is sometimes like Sybilla's Offer; 
which at first offereth the Commodity at full, then 
consumeth part and part, and still holdeth up the 
Price. For Occasion (as it is in the Common 
verse) turneth a Bald Noddle, after she hath p7'e- 
sented her locks in Front, and no hold taken : Or 
at least turneth the Handle of the Bottle, first to 
be received, and after the Belly, which is hard to 
claspe. There is surely no greater Wisedome, 
then well to time the Beginnings, and Onsets of 
Things. Dangers are no more light, if they once 
seeme light: And more dangers have deceived 
Men, then forced them. Nay, it w^ere better, to 
meet some Dangers halfe way, though they come 
nothing neare, then to keepe too long a watch, 
upon their Approaches; For if a Man watch too 
long, it is odds he will fall asleepe. On the 
other side, to be deceived, with too long Shad- 
owes, (As some have beene, when the Moone was 
low, and shone on their Enemies backe) And so 



90 ESS A YES. 

to shoot off before the time; Or to teach dangers 
to come on, by over early Buckling towards them, 
is another Extreme. The Ripenesse, or Unripe- 
nesse, of the Occasion (as we said) must ever be 
well weighed; And generally, it is good, to com- 
mit the Beginnings of all great Actions, to Argos 
with his hundred Eyes; And the Ends to Bria7'eus 
with his hundred Hands: First to Watch, and 
then to Speed. For the Helmet of Fluto, which 
maketh the Politicke Man goe Invisible, is. 
Secrecy in the Counsell, & Celerity in the Exe- 
cution. For when Things are once come to the 
Execution, there is no Secrecy comparable to 
Celerity ; Like the Motion of a Bullet in the 
Ayre, which flyeth so swift, as it out-runs the 
Eye. 

XXII. 

OF CUNNING. 

We take Cunjiiiig for a Sinister or Crooked 
Wisedome. And certainly, there is great differ- 
ence, between a Cun?ii7ig Man, and a Wise Man; 
Not onely in Point of Honesty, but in point of 
Ability. There be that can packe the Cards, and 
yet cannot play well; So there are some, that 
are good in Canvasses, and Factions, that are 



OF CUNNING. 91 

Otherwise Weake Men. Againe, it is one thing 
to understand Persons, and another thing to un- 
derstand Matters; For many are perfect in Mens 
Humours, that are not greatly Capable of the 
Reall Part of Businesse; Which is the Constitu- 
tion of one, that hath studied Men, more than 
Bookes. Such Men are fitter for Practise, then 
for Counsell; And they are good but in their 
own Alley: Turne them to New Men, and they 
have lost their Ayme; So as the old Rule, to 
know a Foole from a Wise Man; Mitte ambos 
nudos ad ignotos, &= videbis ; doth scarce hold for 
them. And because these Cunning Me?i^ are 
like Haberdashers of Small Wares, it is not 
amisse to set forth their Shop. 

It is a point of Cunning; to wait upon him, 
with whom you speake, with your eye; As the 
Jesuites give it in precept: For there be many 
Wise Men, that have Secret Hearts, and Trans- 
parant Countenances. Yet this would be dorie, 
with a demure Abasing of your Eye sometimes, 
as the Jesuites also doe use. 

Another is, that when you have any thing to 
obtaine of present dispatch, you entertaine, and 
amuse the party, with whom you deale, with 
some other Discourse; That he be not too much 
awake, to make Objections. I knew a Counsellor 
and Sec?'etary, that never came to Queene Eliza- 



92 ESS A YES. 

beth of England, with Bills to signe, but he would 
alwaies first put her into some discourse of Estate, 
that she mought the lesse minde the Bills. 

The like Surprize, may be made, by Moving 
things, when the Party is in haste, and cannot 
stay, to consider advisedly, of that is moved. 

If a man would crosse a Businesse, that he 
doubts some other would handsomely and effectu- 
ally move, let him pretend to wish it well, and 
move it himselfe, in such sort, as may foile it. 

The breaking off, in the midst of that, one was 
about to say, as if he tooke himselfe up, breeds 
a greater Appetite in him, with whom you 
conferre, to know more. 

And because it workes better, when any thing 
seemeth to be gotten from you by Question, then 
if you offer it of your selfe, you may lay a Bait 
for a Question, by shewing another Visage and 
Countenance, then you are wont; To the end, to 
give Occasion, for the party to aske, what the 
Matter is of the Change? As Nehemias did; 
And I had not before that time been sad before the 
King. 

In Things, that are tender and unpleasing, it is 
good to breake the Ice, by some whose Words are 
of lesse weight, and to reserve the more weighty 
Voice, to come in, as by chance, so that he may 
be asked the Question upon the others Speech. 



OF CUNNING, 93 

As Narcissus did, in relating to Claudius^ the 
Marriage of Messalma and Stilus. 

In things, that a Man would not be seen in, 
himselfe; It is a Point of Cunning, to borrow 
the Name of the World; As to say; The World 
sayes, Or, There Is a speech abroad. 

I knew one, that when he wrote a Letter, he 
would put that which was most Materiall, in the 
Post-scrlpl, as if it had been a By-matter. 

I knew another, that when he came to have 
Speech, he would passe over that, that he intended 
most, and goe forth, and come backe againe, and 
speake of it, as of a Thing, that he had almost 
forgot. 

Some procure themselves, to be surprized, at 
such times, as it is like, the party that they work 
upon, will suddenly come upon them ; And to 
be found with a Letter in their hand, or doing 
somewhat which they are not accustomed: To 
the end, they may be apposed of those things, 
which of themselves they are desirous to utter. 

It is a Point of Cunning, to let fall those 
Words, in a Mans owne Name, which he would 
have another Man learne, and use, and thereupon 
take Advantage. I knew two, that were Com- 
petitors, for the Secretaries Place, in Queene 
Elizabeths time, and yet kept good Quarter 
betweene themselves; And would conferre, one 



94 ^SSA YES. 

with another, upon the Businesse; And the one 
of them said, That to be a Secretary, in the 
Declinaiiofi of a Mo7iarchy, was a Ticklish Thing, 
and that he did not affect it: The other, straight 
caught up those Words, and discoursed with 
divers of his Friends, that he had no reason to 
desire to be Secretary, in the Declination of a 
Mona7'chy. The first Man tooke hold of it, and 
found Meanes, it was told the Queene ; Who 
hearing of a Declinatio7i of a Monarchy, tooke it 
so ill, as she would never after heare of the 
others Suit. 

There is a Cunning, which we in Englajid ciW, 
The Turning of the Cat in the Pan ; which is, 
when that which a Man sayes to another, he laies 
it,- as if Another had said it to him. And to say 
Truth, it is not easie, when such a Matter passed 
between two, to make it appeare, from which of 
them, it first moved and began. 

It is a way, that some men have, to glaunce 
and dart at Others, by Justifying themselves, by 
Negatives; As to say, This I doe not: As Tigil- 
linus did towards Burrhus ; Se nan diversas 
spes, sed Incolumitatem Lnperatojis simpliciter 
spec tare. 

Some have in readinesse, so many Tales and 
Stories, as there is Nothing, they would insinu- 
ate, but they can wrap it into a Tale; which 



OF CUNNING, 95 

serveth both to keepe themselves more in Guard, 
and to make others carry it, with more Pleasure. 

It is a good Point of Cunning, for a Man, to 
shape the Answer he would have, in his owne 
Words, and Propositions; For it makes the other 
Party sticke the lesse. 

It is strange, how long some Men will lie in 
wait, to speake somewhat, they desire to say; 
And how farre about they will fetch; And how 
many other Matters they will beat over, to come 
oeare it. It is a Thing of great Patience, but 
yet of much Use. 

A sudden, bold, and unexpected Question, 
doth many times surprise a Man, and lay him 
open. Like to him, that having changed his 
Name, and walking in Pauls, Another suddenly 
came behind him, and called him by his true 
Name, whereat straightwaies he looked backe. 

But these Small Wares, and Petty Points of 
Cunning, are infinite : And it were a good deed, 
to make a List of them : For that nothing doth 
more hurt in a State, then that Cunning Men 
passe for Wise. 

But certainly, some there are, that know the 
Resorts and Falls of Businesse, that cannot sinke 
into the Maine of it: Like a House, that hath 
convenient Staires, and Entries, but never a faire 
Roome. Therfore, you shall see them finde out 



96 ESS A YES. 

pretty Looses in the Conclusion, but are no waies 
able to Examine, or debate Matters. And yet 
commonly they take advantage of their Inability, 
and would be thought Wits of direction. Some 
build rather upon the Abusing of others, and (as 
we now say;) Putting Tricks upon them; Then 
upon Soundnesse of their own proceedings. But 
Salomon saith; Pnidens advertit ad G?rssus suos : 
Stultus divertit ad Dolos. 



XXIII. 

OF WISEDOME FOR A MANS SELFE. 

An Ant is a wise C?rature for it Selfe; But it 
is a shrewd Thing, in an Orchard, or Garden. 
And certainly. Men that are great Lovers of 
Thejnselves, waste the Publique. Divide with 
reason betweene Sclfe-love, and Society : And 
be so true to thy Sclfc, as thou be not false to 
Others; Specially to thy King, and Country. It 
is a poore Center of a Mans Action, Hifuselfe. 
It is right Earth. For that onely stands fast 
upon his owne Center; Whereas all Things, that 
have Affinity with the Heavens^ move upon the 
Center of another, which they benefit. The 
Referring of all to a Mans Setfe, is more toler- 
able in a Soveraigne Prince; Because Themselves 



OF WISED OME FOR A MANS SELFE. 97 

are not onely Themselves ; But their Good and 
Evill, is at the perill of the Publique Fortune. 
But it is a desperate Evill in a Servant to a Prince, 
or a Citizen in a Republique. For whatsoever 
Affaires passe such a Mans Hands, he crooketh 
them to his owne Ends: Which must needs be 
often Eccentrick to the Ends of his Master, or 
State. Therefore let Princes, or States, choose 
such Servants, as have not this marke; Except 
they meane their Service should be made but the 
Accessary. That which maketh the Effect more 
pernicious, is, that all Proportion is lost. It 
were disproportion enough, for the Servants 
Good, to be preferred before the Masters; But 
yet it is a greater Extreme, when a little Good of 
the Servant, shall carry Things, against a great 
Good of the Masters. And yet that is the case 
of Bad Ofificers, Treasurers, Ambassadours, Gen- 
erals, and other False and Corrupt Servants; 
which set a Bias upon their Bowie, of their owne 
Petty Ends, and Envies, to the overthrow of 
their Masters Great and Important Affaires. And 
for the most part, the Good such Servants re- 
ceive, is after the Modell of their owne Fortune; 
But the Hurt they sell for that Good, is after the 
Modell of their Masters Fortune. And certainly, 
it is the Nature of Extreme Selfe- Lovers ; As 
they will set an House on Fire, and it were but 

H 



98 ESSA YES. 

to roast their Egges : And yet these Men, many 
times, hold credit with their Masters; Because 
their Study is but to please Them, and profit 
Theinselves : And for either respect, they will 
abandon the Good of their Affaires. 

Wisedome for a Mans Selfe, is in many 
Branches thereof, a depraved Thing. It is the 
Wisedome of Rats, that will be sure to leave a 
House, somewhat before it fall. It is the Wise- 
do7?ie of the Fox, that thrusts out the Badger, who 
digged & made Roome for him. It is the 
Wisedo?ne of Crocodiles, that shed teares, when 
they would devoure. But that which is specially 
to be noted, is, that those, which (as Cicero sales 
of Pompey') are, Sui Amantes sine Rivali, are 
many times unfortunate. And whereas they 
have all their time sacrificed to Themselves, they 
become in the end themselves Sacrifices to the 
Inconstancy of Fortune; whose Wings they 
thought, by their Selfe- Wisedome, to have 
Pinnioned. 



XXIIII. 

OF INNOVATIONS. . 

As the Births of Living Creatures, at first, are 
ill shapen : So are all Innovations, which are the 



OF INNOVATIONS. 99 

Births of Time. Yet notwithstanding, as Those 
that first bring Honour into their Family, are 
commonly more worthy, then most that succeed : 
So the first President (if it be good) is seldome 
attained by Imitation. For 111, to Mans Nature, 
as it stands perverted, hath a Naturall Motion, 
strongest in Continuance : But Good, as a Forced 
Motion, strongest at first. Surely every Medicine 
is an Iimovation ; And he that will not apply New 
Remedies, must expect New Evils: For Time is 
the greatest ////^(^z^irz/.? //;-.• And if Time, of course, 
alter Things to the worse, and Wisedome, and 
Counsell shall not alter them to the better, what 
shall be the End? It is true, that what is setled 
by Custome, though it be not good, yet at least 
it is fit. And those Things, which have long 
gone together, are as it were confederate within 
themselves: Whereas New Things peece not so 
well; But though they helpe by their utility, yet 
they trouble, by their Inconformity. Besides, 
they are like Strangers ; more Admired, and lesse 
Favoured. All this is true, if Time stood still; 
which contrariwise moveth so round, that a 
Froward Retention of Custome, is as turbulent 
a Thing, as an Innovation : And they that Rever- 
ence too much Old Times, are but a Scorne to 
the New. It were good therefore; that Men in 
their Innovations, would follow the Example of 



100 ESS A YES. 

Time it selfe; which indeed Innovateth greatly, 
but quietly, and by degrees, scarce to be per- 
ceived: For otherwise, whatsoever is New, is 
unlooked for; And ever it mends Some, and 
paires Other: And he that is holpen, takes it for 
a Fortune, and thanks the Time; And he that is 
hurt, for a wrong, and imputeth it to the Author. 
It is good also, not to try Experiments in States; 
Except the Necessity be Urgent, or the utility 
Evident: And well to beware, that it be the 
Reformation, that draweth on the Change : And 
not the desire of Change, that pretendeth the 
Reformation. And lastly, that the Novelty, 
though it be not rejected, yet be held for a 
Suspect: And as the Scripture saith; That we 
make a stand tipon the Ancient Way, and then 
looke about us, and discover, what is the straight^ 
and right way, and so to walke in it. 



XXV. 

OF DISPATCH. 

Affected Dispatch, is one of the most dan- 
gerous things to Businesse that can be. It is 
like that, which the Physicians call Predigestion, 
or Hasty Di:^e:.tion ; which is sure to fill the Body, 
full of Crudities, and secret Seeds of Diseases. 



\^h\ 



OF DISPATCH. lOI 

Therefore, measure not Dispatch, by the Times of 
Sitting, but by the Advancement of the Busi- 
nesse. And as in Races, it is not the large Stride, 
or High Lift, that makes the Speed : So in Busi- 
nesse, the Keeping close to the matter, and not 
Taking of it too much at once, procureth Dis- 
patch. It is the Care of Some, onely to come 
off speedily, for the time; Or to contrive some 
false Periods of Businesse, because they may 
seeme Men of Dispatch. I But it is one Thing, to 
Abbreviate by Contractii^, Another by Cutting 
off: And Businesse so handled at severall Sittings 
or Meetings, goeth commonly backward and for- 
ward, in an unsteady Manner. I knew a Wise 
Alan, that had it for a By-word, when he saw 
Men hasten to a conclusion; Stay a little, that we 
may make an End the soonei\ 

On the other side, True Dispatch is a rich 
Thing. For Time is the measure of Businesse, 
as Money is of Wares : And Businesse is bought 
at a deare Hand, where there is small dispatch. 
The Spartans, and Spaniards, have been noted 
to be of Small dispatch ; Mi venga la Mue?'te de 
Spagna ; Let my Death come fj'om Spaine ; Yox 
then it will be sure to be long in comming. 

Give good Hearing to those, that give the first 
Information in Businesse; And rather direct them 
in the beginning, then interrupt them in the con- 



102 ESS A YES. 

tinuance of their Speeches: for he that is put out 
of his owne Order, will goe forward and back- 
ward, and be more tedious while he waits upon 
his Memory, then he could have been, if he had 
gone on, in his owne course. But sometimes it 
is seene, that the Moderator is more troublesome, 
then the Actor. 

Iterations are commonly losse of Time: But 
there is no such Gaine of Time, as to iterate often 
the State of the Question : For it chaseth away 
many a Frivolous Speech, as it is comming forth. 
Long and Curious Speeches, are as fit for Dis- 
patch, as a Robe or Mantle with a long Traine, 
is for Race. Prefaces, and Passages, and Ex- 
cusations, and other Speeches of Reference to 
the Person, are great wasts of Time; And though 
they seeme to proceed of Modesty, they are 
Bravery. Yet beware of being too Materiall, 
when there is any Impediment or Obstruction in 
Mens Wils; For Pre-occupation of Minde, ever 
requireth preface of Speech; Like a Fomentation 
to make the unguent enter. 

Above all things. Order, and Distribution, and 
Singling out of Farts, is the life of Dispatch; So 
as the Distribution be not too subtill : For he that 
doth not divide, will never enter well into Busi- 
nesse; And he that divideth too much, will never 
come out of it clearely. To choose Time, is to 



OF SEEMING WISE. IO3 

save Time; And an Unseasonable Motion is but 
Beating the Ayre. There be three Parts of Busi- 
nesse : The Preparation ; The Debate, or Exajn- 
ination ; And the Perfection. Whereof, if you 
looke for Dispatch, let the Middle onely be the 
Worke of Many, and the First and Last the Worke 
of Few. The Proceeding upon somewhat con- 
ceived in Writing, doth for the most part facili- 
tate Dispatch; For though it should be wholly 
rejected, yet that Negative is more pregnant of 
Direction, then an Indefinite ; As ashes are more 
Generative then Dust. 



XXVI. 

OF SEEMING WISE. 

It hath been an Opinion, that the French are 
wiser then they seeme; And the Spaniards seeme 
wiser then they are. But howsoever it be between 
Nations, certainly it is so between Man and Man. 
For as the Apostle saith of Godlinesse ; Having a 
shew of Godlinesse, but de?iying the Power thereof : 
So certainly, there are in Point of Wisedome, 
and Sufficiency, that doe Nothing or Little, very 
solemnly; Magno conatu Nugas. It is a Ridicu- 
lous Thing, and fit for a Satyre, to Persons of 
Judgement, to see what shifts these Formalists 



104 ^^^^ ^^'^• 

have, and what Prospective s, to make Supe7'ficies 
to seeme Body, that hath Depth and Bulke. Some 
are so Close and Reserved, as they will not shew 
their Wares, but by a darke Light; And seeme 
alwaies to keepe backe somewhat: And when 
they know within themselves, they speake of that 
they doe not well know, would neverthelesse 
seeme to others, to know of that, which they may 
not well speake. Some helpe themselves with 
Countenance, and Gesture, and are wise by 
Signes; As Cicero saith of Piso, that when he 
answered him, he fetched one of his Browes, up 
to his Forehead, and bent the other downe to 
his Chin; Respondes, altero ad Fi-onte?ti siiblato, 
altero ad Me 11/21 ??i depress o Supet'cilio ; Ci'iidclita- 
tem tibi non placere. Some thinke to beare it, 
by Speaking a great Word, and being peremp- 
tory; And goe on, and take by admittance that, 
which they cannot make good. Some, whatso- 
ever is beyond their reach, will seeme to despise 
or make light of it, as Impertinent, or Curious; 
And so would have their Ignorance seeme Judge- 
ment. Some are never without a Difference, 
and commonly by Amusing Men with a Subtilty, 
blanch the matter; Of whom A. Gelliiis saith; 
Hominem delirum, qui Verborum Mimitijs Rerum 
frangit Pondera. Of which kinde also Plato in 
his Protagoras bringeth in Prodicus, in Scorne, 



OF FR END SHI P. I05 

and maketh him make a Speech, that consisteth 
of distinctions from the Beginning to the End. 
Generally, Such Men in all Deliberations, finde 
ease to be of the Negative Side; and affect a 
Credit, to object and foretell Difficulties: For 
when propositions are denied, there is an End 
of them; But if they be allowed, it requireth a 
New Worke : which false Point of Wisedome, is 
the Bane of Businesse. To conclude, there is 
no decaying Merchant, or Inward Beggar, hath 
so many Tricks, to uphold the Credit of their 
wealth, as these Empty persons have, to main- 
taine the Credit of their Sufificiency. Seefuing 
Wise-men may make shift to get Opinion: But 
let no Man choose them for Employment; For 
certainly, you were better take for Businesse, a 
Man somewhat Absurd, then over Formall. 



XXVII. 

OF FRENDSHIP. 

It had beene hard for him that spake it, to 
have put more Truth and untruth together, in 
few Words, then in that Speech: Whosoever is 
delighted in solitude, is either a wilde Beast, or a 
God. For it is most true, that a Naturall and 
Secret Hatred, and Adversation towards Society^ 



I06 ESS A YES. 

in any Man, hath somewhat of the Savage Beast; 
But it is most Untrue, that it should have any 
Character, at all, of the Divine Nature; Except 
it proceed, not out of a Pleasure in Solitude, but 
out of a Love and desire, to sequester a Mans 
Selfe, for a Higher Conversation: Such as is 
found, to have been falsely and fainedly, in some 
of the Heathen; as Epimenides the Candian, 
Numa the Roman, Enipedocles the Sicilian, and 
Appolonius of Tyana; And truly and really, in 
divers of the Ancient Hermits, and Holy Fathers 
of the Church. But little doe Men perceive, 
what Solitude is, and how farre it extendeth. For 
a Crowd is not Company; And Faces are but a 
Gallery of Pictures; And Talke but a Tinckling 
Cymball, where there is no Love. The Latine 
Adage meeteth with it a little; Magna Civitas, 
Magtia soliiudo ; Because in a great Towne, 
Frends are scattered; So that there is not that 
Fellowship, for the most Part, which is in lesse 
Neighbourhoods. But we may goe further, and 
afifirme most truly; That it is a meere, and mis- 
erable Solitude f to want true Frends; without 
which the World is but a Wildernesse: And even 
in this sense also of Solitude, whosoever in the 
Frame of his Nature and Affections, is unfit for 
Frendship, he taketh it of the Beast, and not from 
Humanity. 



OF FR END SHIP. lO/ 

A principall Fruit of Frendship, is the Ease 
and Discharge of the Fuhiesse and Swellings of 
the Heart, which Passions of all kinds doe cause 
and induce. We know Diseases of Stoppings, 
and Suffocations, are the most dangerous in the 
body; And it is not much otherwise in the 
Minde: You may take Sarza to open the Liver; 
Steele to open the Spleene; Flowers of Sulphur 
for the Lungs; Castoreuni for the Braine; But 
no Receipt openeth the Heart, but a true Frend ; 
To whom you may impart, Griefes, Joyes, Feares, 
Hopes, Suspicions, Counsels, and whatsoever 
lieth upon the Heart, to oppresse it, in a kind 
of Civill Shrift or Confession. 

It is a Strange Thing to observe, how high a 
Rate, Great Kings and Monarchs, do set upon 
this Fruit of Frendship, wherof we speake : So 
great, as they purchase it, many times, at the 
hazard of their owne Safety, and Greatnesse. For 
Princes, in regard of the distance of their Fortune, 
from that of their Subjects & Servants, cannot 
gather this Fi'iiit ; Except (to make Themselves 
capable thereof) they raise some Persons, to be 
as it were Companions, and almost Equals to 
themselves, which many times sorteth to Incon- 
venience. The Moderne Languages give to such 
Persons, the Name of Favorites, or Privadoes ; 
As if it were Matter of Grace, or Conversation. 



I08 ESS A YES. 

But the Roman Name attaineth the true Use, and 
Cause thereof; Naming them Pa7-ticipes Cura- 
rujn; For it is that, which tieth the knot. And 
we see plainly, that this hath been done, not by 
Weake and Passionate Princes onely, but by the 
Wisest, and most Politique that ever reigned; 
Who have oftentimes joyned to themselves, some 
of their Servants; Whom both Themselves have 
called Freiids ; And allowed Others likewise to 
call them in the same manner; Using the Word 
which is received between Private Men. 

L. Syllaj when he commanded Rome, raised 
Pompey (after surnamed the Great) to that 
Heigth, that Poinpey vaunted Himselfe for Sylla's 
Overmatch. For when he had carried the Con- 
sulship for a Frend of his, against the pursuit of 
Sylla, and that Sylla did a little resent thereat, 
and began to speake great, Pompey turned upon 
him againe, and in effect bad him be quiet; For 
that more Men adored the Snnne Rising, then 
the Simne setting, V^\\h. Julius Ccesar, P)eci?nus 
Brutus had obtained that Interest, as he set him 
downe, in his Testament, for Heire in Remainder, 
after his Nephew. And this was the Man, that 
had power with him, to draw him forth to his 
death. For when Ccesar would have discharged 
the Senate, in regard of some ill Presages, and 
specially a Dreame of Calpurnia ; This Man 



OF FRENDSHIP. IO9 

lifted him gently by the Arme, out of his Chaire, 
telling him, he hoped he would not dismisse the 
Senate, till his wife had dreamt a better Dreame. 
And it seemeth, his favour was so great, as Anto- 
nius in a Letter, which is recited Verbathn^ in 
one of Cicero's Fhilippiques, calleth him Venefica, 
Witch; As if he had enchanted Ccesa7\ Augus- 
tus raised Agrippa (though of meane Birth) to 
that Heighth, as when he consulted with Mce- 
cenas, about the Marriage of his Daughter Julia, 
McEcenas tooke the Liberty to tell him; That he 
must either viarjy his Daughter to Ag?'ippa, or 
take azuay his life, there was no tliird way, he had 
made him so great. With Tibeiius Ccesar, Se- 
janus had ascended to that Height, as they Two 
were tearmed and reckoned, as a Paire of Frends. 
Tiberius in a Letter to him saith; Hcec pro Aini- 
citid nostra non occultavi : And the whole Senate, 
dedicated an Altar to Fi-endship, as to a Goddesse, 
in respect of the great Dearenesse of Frendship, 
between them Two. The like or more was 
between Septimius Severus, and Flautia^ius. For 
he forced his Eldest Sonne to marry the Daughter 
of Plautianus ; And would often maintaine Plaic- 
tianus, in doing Affronts to his Son: And did 
write also in a Letter to the Senate, by these 
Words; I love the Man so well, as I wish he may 
over-live me. Now if these Princes, had beene as 



no £SSAVES. 

a Trajan, or a Marcus Aurelius, A Man might 
have thought, that this had proceeded of an 
abundant Goodnesse of Nature; But being Men 
so Wise, of such Strength and Severitie of minde, 
and so Extreme Lovers of Themselves, as all 
these were; It proveth most plainly, that they 
found their owne Felicitie (though as great as 
ever happened to Mortall Men) but as an Halfe 
Peece, except they mought have a Frend to make 
it Entire: And yet, which is more, they were 
Princes, that had Wives, Sonnes, Nephews; And 
yet all these could not supply the Comfort of 
Frendshijy. 

It is not to be forgotten, what Commineus ob- 
serveth, of his first Master Duke Charles the 
Hardy ; Namely, that hee would communicate 
his Secrets with none; And least of all, those 
Secrets, which troubled him most. Whereupon 
he goeth on, and saith. That towards his Latter 
times; That closenesse did impaire, and a little 
perish his understanding. Surely Conunineus 
mought have made the same Judgement also, if 
it had pleased him, of his Second Master Lewis 
the Eleventh, whose closenesse was indeed his 
Tormentour. The Parable of Pythagoras is darke, 
but true; Cor ne edito ; Eat not the Heai't. Cer- 
tainly, if a Man would give it a hard Phrase, 
Those that want Frefids to open themselves unto, 



OF FRENDSHIP III 

are Canniballs of their owne Hearts. But one 
Thing is most Admirable, (wherewith I will con- 
clude this first Fruit of frendshif) which is, that 
this Communicating of a Mans Selfe to his Frend, 
works two contrarie Effects; For it redoubleth 
Joyes, and cutteth Griefes in Halfes. For there 
is no Man, that imparteth \\\^ Joyes to his Frendy 
but he joyeth the more ; And no Man, that im- 
parteth his Griefes to his Frend, but hee grieveth 
the lesse. So that it is, in Truth of Operation 
upon a Mans Minde, of like vertue, as the Alchy- 
mists use to attribute to their Stone, for Mans 
Bodie; That it worketh all Contrary Effects, but 
still to the Good, and Benefit of Nature. But 
yet, without praying in Aid of Akhymists, there 
is a manifest Image of this, in the ordinarie 
course of Nature. For in Bodies, Union strength- 
neth and cherisheth any Naturall Action; And, 
on the other side, weakneth and dulleth any 
violent Impression : And even so is it of Minds. 
The second Fruit of Frendship, is Healthful| 
and Soveraigne for the Understanding, as the first 
is for the Affectiotis. For Frendsiiip maketh'j 
indeed 2^ f aire Day in the Affections, from Storme 
and Tempests: But it maketh Daylight in the 
Understanding, out of Darknesse & Confusion of 
Thoughts. Neither is this to be understood, 
onely of FaithfuU Counsell, which a Man receiv- 



112 ESS A YES. 

eth from his Frend ; But before you come to 
that, certaine it is, that whosoever hath his 
Minde fraught, with many Thoughts, his Wits 
and Understanding, doe clarifie and breake up, 
in the Communicating and discoursing with 
Another: He tosseth his Thoughts, more easily; 
He marshalleth them more orderly; He seeth 
how they looke when they are turned into Words; 
Finally, He waxeth wiser then Himself e; And 
that more by an Houres discourse, then by a 
Dayes Meditation. It was well said by Themis- 
tocles to the King of Peisia ; That speech was like 
Cloth of Arras, opened, and put abroad ; Whereby 
the Imagery doth appeare in Figure ; whereas in 
Thoughts, they lie but as in Packs. Neither is 
this Second Fruit of Frendship, in opening the 
Understanding restrained onely to such Frends, 
as are able to give a Man Counsell : (They indeed 
are best) But even, without that, a Man learneth 
of Himselfe, and bringeth his owne Thoughts to 
Light, and whetteth his Wits as against a Stone, 
which it selfe cuts not. In a word, a Man were 
better relate himselfe, to a Statua, or Picture, then 
to suffer his Thoughts to passe in smother. 

Adde now, to make this Second Fruit oi Frend- 
ship compleat, that other Point, which lieth more 
open, and falleth within Vulgar Observation; 
which is Faithfull Counsell from a Frend. Hera- 



OF FRENDSHIP. II3 

clitus saith well, in one of his y^nigmaes; Dry 
Light is ever the best. And certaine it is, that 
the Light, that a man receiveth, byCounsell from 
Another, is Drier, and purer, then that which 
commeth from his owne Understanding, and 
Judgement; which is ever infused and drenched 
in his Affections and Customes. So as, there is 
as much difference, betweene the Counsel!, that a 
Frend giveth, and that a Man giveth himself e, as 
there is between the Coimsell of a Frend, and of 
a Flatterer. For there is no such Flatterer, as is 
a Mans Selfe; And there is no such Remedy, 
against Flattery of a Mans Selfe, as the Liberty of 
a Frend. Counsell is of two Sorts; The one con- 
cerning Manners, the other concerning Biisi- 
nesse. For the First; The best Preservative to 
keepe the Minde in Health, is the faithfull 
Admonition of a Frend. The Calling of a Mans 
Selfe, to a Strict Account, is a Medicine, some- 
time, too Piercing and Corrosive. Reading good 
Bookes of Morality, is a little Flat, and Dead. 
Observing our Faults in Others, is sometimes 
unproper for our Case. But the best Receipt 
(best (I say) to worke, and best to take) is the 
Admonition of a Fre^id. It is a strange thing 
to behold, what grosse Errours, and extreme 
Absurdities, Many (especially of the greater Sort) 
doe commit, for want of a Frend, to tell them of 



114 ESS A YES. 

them; To the great dammage, both of their 
Fame, & Fortune.^ vFor, as S. Ja??ies saith, they 
are as Men, that looke sometimes into a Glasse, 
ana presently forget their ozv7ie Shape, &= Favour. 
As for Businesse, a Man may think, if he will, 
that two Eyes see no more then one; Or that a 
Gamester seeth alwaies more then a Looker on; 
Or that a Man in Anger, is as Wise as he, that 
hath said over the fonre and twenty Letters; Or 
that a Musket may be shot off, aswell upon the 
Arme, as upon a Rest; And such other fond and 
high Imaginations, to thinke Himselfe All in All. 
But when all is done, the Helpe of good Conn- 
sell, is that, which setteth Businesse straight. 
And if any Man thinke, that he will take Coun- 
sell, but it shall be by Peeces; Asking Counscll 
in one Businesse of one Man, and in another 
Businesse of another Man; It is well, (that is to 
say, better perhaps then if he asked none at all;) 
but he runneth two dangers : One, that he shall 
not be faithfully counselled; For it is a rare 
Thing, except it be from a perfect and entire 
Frend, to have Counsell given, but such as shalbe 
bowed and crooked to some ends, which he hath 
that giveth it. The other, that he shall have 
Counsell given, hurtfull, and unsafe, (though with 
good Meaning) and mixt, partly of Mischiefe, 
and partly of Remedy : Even as if you would call 



OF FR END SHIP. 1 1 5 

a Physician, that is thought good, for the Cure 
of the Disease, you complaine of, but is unac- 
quainted with your body; And therefore, may 
put you in way for a present Cure, but overthrow- 
eth your Health in some other kinde; And so 
cure the Disease, and kill the Patient. But a 
Frend, that is wholly acquainted with a Mans 
Estate, will beware by furthering any present 
Busi7iesse, how he dasheth upon other Incon- 
venience. And therefore, rest not upon Scat- 
tered Counsels ; They will rather distract, and 
Misleade, then Settle, and Direct. 

And these two Noble Fruits of Fre^idship ; 
{Peace in the Affectio7is, and Stipport of the Judge- 
ment,') followeth the last Fruit ; which is like the 
Poingranaty full of many kernels; I meane Aid, 
and Bea7'inga Part, in all Actions, and Occasions. 
Here, the best Way, to represent to life the mani- 
fold use of Frendship, is to cast and see, how 
many Things there are, which a Man cannot doe 
Himself e; And then it will appeare, that it was 
a Sparing Speech of the Ancients, to say. That a 
Frend is another Himself e : For that a Frend is 
farre more then Himselfe. Men have their Time, 
and die many times in desire of some Things, 
which they principally take to Heart; The 
bestowing of a Child, The Finishing of a Worke, 
Or the like. If a Man have a true Frend, he may 



Il6 ESS A YES. 

rest almost secure, that the Care of those Things, 
will continue after Him. So that a Man hath as 
it were two Lives in his desires. A Man hath a 
Body, and that Body is confined to a Place; But 
where Frejidship is, all Offices of Life, are as it 
were granted to Him, and his Deputy. For he 
may exercise them by his Frend. How many 
Things are there, which a Man cannot, with any 
Face or Comelines, say or doe Himself e? A 
Man can scarce alledge his owne Merits with 
modesty, much lesse extoll them : A man cannot 
sometimes brooke to Supplicate or Beg : And a 
number of the like. But ail these Things, are 
GracefuU in a F?-ends Mouth, which are Blushing 
in a Mans Owne. So againe, a Mans Person 
hath many proper Relations, which he cannot 
put off. A Man cannot speake to his Sonne, but 
as a Father; To his Wife, but as a Husband; To 
his Enemy, but upon Termes : whereas a Frend 
may speak, as the Case requires, and not as it 
sorteth with the Person. But to enumerate these 
Things were endlesse : I have given the Rule, 
where a Man cannot fitly play his owne Part: If 
he have not a F7'end^ he may quit the Stage. 



OF EXPENCE. 1 1 7 



XXVIII. 

OF EXPENCE. 



Riches are for Spending; And Spending for 
Honour and good Actions. Therefore Ext7'aor- 
dinary Expence must be limitted by the Worth 
of the Occasion: For Voluntary Undoings may 
be aswell for a Mans Coimtry, as for the King- 
dome of Heaven. But Ordinary Expence ought 
to be limitted by a Mans Estate; And governed 
with such regard, as it be within his Compasse; 
And not subject to Deceit and Abuse of Servants; 
And ordered to the best Shew, that the Bils may 
be lesse, then the Estimation abroad. Certainly, 
if a Man will keep but of Even hand, his Ordi- 
nary Expences ought to be, but to the Halfe of 
his Receipts; And if he thinke to waxe Rich, 
but to the Third Part. It is no Basenesse, for 
the Greatest, to descend and looke, into their 
owne Estate, Some forbeare it, not upon Negli- 
gence alone. But doubting to bring Themselves 
into Melancholy, in respect they shall finde it 
Broken. But Wounds cannot be Cured without 
Searching. He that cannot looke into his own 
Estate at all, had need both Choose well, those 



Il8 ESSAYES. 

whom he employeth, and change them often: 
For New are more Timorous, and lesse Subtile. 
He that can looke into his Estate but seldome, 
it behoveth him to turne all to Certainties. A 
Man had need, if he be Plentifull, in some kinde 
of Expence^ to be as Saving againe, in some 
other. As if he be Plentifull in Diet, to be Sav- 
ing in Apparell : If he be Plentifull in the Hall, 
to be Saving in the Stable : And the like. For 
he that is Plentifull in Expoices of all Kindes, 
will hardly be preserved from Decay. In Clear- 
ing of a Mans Estate, he may as well hurt Him- 
selfe in being too sudden, as in letting it runne 
on too long. For hasty Selling is commonly as 
Disadvantageable as Interest. Besides, he that 
cleares at once, will relapse; For finding him- 
selfe out of Straights, he will revert to his Cus- 
tomes : But hee that cleareth by Degrees, induceth 
a Habite of Frugalitie, and gaineth as well upon 
his Minde, as upon his Estate. Certainly, who 
hath a State to repaire, may not despise small 
Things: And commonly, it is lesse dishonourable, 
to abridge pettie Charges, then to stoope to pettie 
Gettings. A Man ought warily to beginne 
Charges, which once begun will Continue: But 
in Matters, that returne not, he may be more 
Magnificent. 



GREATNESSE OF KINGDOMES. 1 19 



XXIX. 

OF THE TRUE GREATNESSE OF KINGDOMES AND 
ESTATES. 

The Speech of Themistodes the Afhejiian, 
which was Haughtie and Arrogant, in taking so 
much to Himselfe, had been a Grave and Wise 
Observation and Censure, applied at large to 
others. Desired at a Feast to touch a Lute, he 
said; He could not fiddle, but yet he could make a 
small Towne, a great Citty. These Words (holpen 
a little with a Metaphore) may expresse tv»'o dif- 
fering Abilities, in those that deale in Businesse 
of Estate. For if a true Survey be taken, of 
Counsellours and Statesmen, there may be found 
(though rarely) those, which can make a Small 
State Great, and yet cannot Fiddle : As on the 
other side, there will be found a great many, that 
can fiddle very cunningly, but yet are so farre 
from being able, to make a Small State Great, as 
their Gift lieth the other way; To bring a Great 
and Flourishing Estate to Ruine and Decay. 
And certainly, those Degenerate Arts and Shifts, 
whereby many Counsellours and Governours, gaine 
both Favour with their Masters, and Estimation 



120 ESSAYES. 

with the Vulgar, deserve no better Name then 
Fidling; Being Things, rather pleasing for the 
time, and gracefull to themselves onely, then 
tending to the Weale and Advancement of the 
State, which they serve. There are also (no 
doubt) Counsellours and Governours, which may 
be held sufificient, {Negotijs pares,) Able to man- 
nage Affaires, and to keepe them from Precipices, 
and manifest Inconveniences; which neverthe- 
lesse are farre from the Abilitie, to raise and 
Amplifie an Estate, in Power, Meanes, and For- 
tune. But be the worke-men what they may be, 
let us speake of the Worke; That is; The true 
Greatnesse of Kingdomes and Estates ; and the 
Meanes thereof. An Argument, fit for Great and 
Mightie Princes, to have in their hand; To the 
end, that neither by Over-measuring their Forces, 
they leese themselves in vaine Enterprises; Nor 
on the other side, by undervaluing them, they 
descend to Fearefull and Pusillanimous Counsells. 
The Greatnesse of an Estate in Bulke and Ter- 
ritorie, doth fall under Measure; And the Great- 
nesse of Finances and Revenew doth fall under 
Computation. The Population may appeare by 
Musters: And the Number and Greatnesse of 
Cities and Townes, by Cards and Maps. But 
yet there is not any Thing amongst Civill Affaires, 
more subject to Errour, then the right valuation. 



GREATNESSE OF KINGDOM ES. 121 

and true Judgement, concerning the Power and 
Forces of an Estate. The Kingdome of Heaven 
is compared, not to any great Kernell or Nut, 
but to a Gi'iiine of Aliistard-seed ; which is one 
of the least Graines, but hath in it a Propertie 
and Spirit, hastily to get up and spread. So 
are there States, great in Territorie, and yet 
not apt to Enlarge, or Command; And some, 
that have but a small Dimension of Stemme, 
and yet apt to be the Foundations of Great 
Monarchies. 

Walled Townes, Stored Arcenalls and Armour- 
ies, Goodly Races of Horse, Chariots of Warre, 
Elephants, Ordnance, Artillery, and the like: 
All this is but a Sheep in a Lions Skin, except 
the Breed and disposition of the People, be stout 
and warlike. Nay Number (it selfe) in Armes, 
importeth not much, where the People is of weake 
Courage : For (as Virgil saith) // never troubles a 
Wolfe, how many the sheepe be. The Armie of 
the Persians, in the Plaines of Arbela, was such a 
vast Sea of People, as it did somewhat astonish 
the Commanders in Alexanders Armie; Who 
came to him therefore, and wisht him, to set 
upon them by Night; But hee answered. He 
would not pilfer the Victory. And the Defeat was 
Easie. When Tigi^anes the Armenian, being 
incamped upon a Hill, with 40000. Men, dis- 



122 ESS A YES. 

covered the Armie of the Romans, being not 
above 14000. Marching towards him, he made 
himself e Merry with it, and said; Yonder Men, 
are too Alany for an Ambassage, a7id too Few for 
a Fight, But before the Sunne sett, he found 
them enough, to give him the Chace, with infinite 
Slaughter. Many are the Examples, of the great 
oddes between Number and Courage : So that a 
Man may truly make a Judgement; That the 
Principal Point of Greatnesse in any State, is 
to have a Race of Military Men. Neither is 
Money the Sinewes of Warre, (as it is trivially 
said) where the Sinewes of Mens Armes, in Base 
and Effeminate People, are failing. For Solon 
said well to Crmsiis (when in Ostentation he 
shewed him his Gold) ^V;', if any Other coine, 
that hath better Iron then yon, he will be Master 
of all this Gold, Therfore let any Prince or State, 
thinke soberly of his Forces, except his Militia 
of Natives, be of good and Valiant Soldiers. 
And let Princes, on the other side, that have Sub- 
jects of Martiall disposition, know their owne 
Strength; unlesse they be otherwise wanting unto 
Themselves. As for Mercenary Forces, (which is 
the Helpe in this Case) all Examples shew; That, 
whatsoever Estate or Prince doth rest upon them; 
Hee mav spread his Feathers for a time, but he 
will mew them soone after. 



GREATNESSE OF KINGDOMES. 123 

The Blessing of Judah and Issachar will never 
meet; That the sa?ne People or Nation, should be 
both The Lions whelpe, and the Asse betwee^ie 
Burthens : Neither will it be, that a People over- 
laid with Taxes should ever become Valiant, and 
Martiall. It is true, that Taxes levied by Con- 
sent of the Estate, doe abate Mens Courage lesse; 
As it hath beene seene notably, in the Excises of 
the Low Countries ; And in some degree, in the 
Subsidies of England. For you must note, that 
we speake now, of the Heart, and not of the 
Purse. So that, although the same Tribute and 
TaXy laid by Consent, or by Imposing, be all 
one to the Purse, yet it workes diversly upon 
the Courage. So that you may conclude; That 
no People over-charged with Tribute, is fit for 
Empire. 

Let States that aime at Greatnesse, take heed 
how their Nobility and Gentlemen, doe multiply 
too fast. For that maketh the Common Subject, 
grow to be a Peasant, and Base Swaine, driven 
out of Heart, and in effect but the Gentlemans 
Labourer. Even as you may see in Coppice 
Woods ; If you leave your staddles too thick, you 
shall never have cleane Underwood, but Shrubs 
and Bushes. So in Countries, if the Gentlejfien 
be too many, the Commons will be base; And 
you will bring it to that, that not the hundred 



1 24 ESSA YES. 

poll, will be fit for an Helmet: Especially as to 
the Infavte7'}\ which is the Nerve of an Army: 
And so there will be Great Population, and Little 
Strength. This, which I speake of, hath been 
no where better seen, then by comparing of Eng- 
land d^Xid^ France ; whereof England, though farre 
lesse in Territory and Population, hath been 
(neverthelesse) an Overmatch; In regard, the 
Aliddle People of England, make good Souldiers, 
which the Peasants of France doe not. And 
herein, the device of King Henryr the Seventh, 
(whereof I have spoken largely in the History of 
his Life) was Profound, and Admirable; In 
making Farmes, and houses of Husbandry, of a 
Standard ; That is, maintained with such a Propor- 
tion of Land unto them, as may breed a Subject, 
to live in Convenient Plenty, and no Servile Con- 
dition; And to keepe the Plough in the Hands of 
the Owners, and not meere Hirelings. And thus 
indeed, you shall attaine to Virgils Character, 
which he gives to Ancient Italy. 

— Terra patens Armis atque ubere Glebce. 

Neither is that State (which for any thing I 
know, is almost peculiar to England, and hardly 
to be found any where else, except it be perhaps 
in Poland) to be passed over; I meane the State 
of Free Serva?its and Atfe7idants upon Noblemen 



GREATNESSE OF KINGDOMES. 125 

and Gentlemen; which are no waies inferiour, 
unto the Yeomanry^ for Armes. And therefore, 
out of all Question, the Splendour, and Magnifi- 
cence, and great Retinues, and Hospitality of 
Noblemen, and Gentlemen, received into Cus- 
tome, doth much conduce, unto Martiall Great- 
nesse. Whereas, contrariwise, the Close and 
Reserved living, of Noblemen, and Gentlemen, 
causeth a Penury of Military Forces. 

By all meanes, it is to be procured, that the 
Trunck of Nebuchadnezzars Tree of Mo7iarchy, 
be great enough, to beare the Branches, and the 
Boughes; That is, That the Natwall Subjects of 
the Crowne or State, beare a sufficient Propor- 
tion, to the Stranger Subjects, that they governe. 
Therfore all States, that are liberall of Naturaliza- 
tion towards Strangers, are fit for Empire. For 
to thinke, that an Handfull of People, can, with 
the greatest Courage, and Policy in the World, 
embrace too large Extent of Dominion, it may 
hold for a time, but it will faile suddainly. The 
Spartans were a nice People, in Point of Natu- 
ralization; whereby, while they kept their Com- 
passe, they stood firme; But when they did spread, 
and their Boughs were becommen too great, for 
their Stem, they became a Windfall upon the 
suddaine. Never any State was, in this Point, 
so open to receive Strangers, into their Body, as 



126 ESS A YES. 

were the Romans. Therefore it sorted with them 
accordingly; For they grew to the greatest Mon- 
archy. Their manner was, to grant Naturaliza- 
tion, (which they called Jus Civitatis) and to 
grant it in the highest Degree; That is, Not 
on^Xy Jus Coinmercij^ Jus Connubij, Jus Hceredi- 
tatis ; But also. Jus SuffragiJ, and Jus Honorum. 
And this, not to Singular Persons alone, but like- 
wise to whole Families; yea to Cities, and some- 
times to Nations. Adde to this, their Custome 
of Plantation of Colonies ; whereby the Roman 
Plant, was removed into the Soile, of other Na- 
tions. And putting both Constitutions together, 
you will say, that it was not the Romans that 
spred upon the World ; But it was the Woj-ld, that 
spred upon the Romans : And that was the sure 
Way of Greatnesse. I have marvelled sometimes 
at Spai?ie, how they claspe and containe so large 
Dominions, with so few Naturall Spa7iiards : But 
sure, the whole Compasse of Spaine, is a very 
Great Body of a Tree; Farre above Ro?ne, and 
Sparta, at the first. And besides, though they 
have not had that usage, to Naturalize liberally; 
yet they have that, which is next to it; That is, 
To employ, almost indiffe?'ently, all Nations, in 
their Alilitia of ordinary Soldiers : yea, and some- 
times in their Highest Commands. Nay, it seem- 
eth at this instant, they are sensible of this want 



GREATNESSE OF KINGDOMES. 12/ 

of Natives; as by the Fragmaticall Sanction, now 
published, appeareth. 

It is certaine, that Sedentary and Withindoore 
Arts, and delicate Manufactures (that require 
rather the Finger, then the Arme) have, in their 
Nature, a Contrariety, to a Military disposition. 
And generally, all Warlike People, are a little 
idle; And love Danger better then Travaile: 
Neither must they be too much broken of it, if 
they shall be preserved in vigour. Therefore, it 
was great Advantage, in the Ancient States of 
Sparta, Athens, Rome, and others, that they had 
the use of Slaves, which commonly did rid those 
Manufactures. But that is abolished, in great- 
est part, by the Christian Law. That which 
commeth nearest to it, is, to leave those Arts 
chiefly to Strangers, (which for that purpose are 
the more easily to be received) and to containe, 
the principall Bulke of the vulgar Natives, within 
those three kinds; Tillers of the Ground; Free 
Sei'vants ; & Handy- Crafts-Men, of Strong, & 
Manly Arts, as Smiths, Masons, Carpenters, &c; 
Not reckoning Professed Souldiers. 

But above all, for Empire and G?-eatnesse, it 
importeth most; That a Nation doe professe 
Armes, as their principall Honour, Study, and 
Occupation. For the Things, which we formerly 
have spoken of, are but Habilitations towards 



128 ESS A YES. 

Armes : And what is Habilitation without Inten- 
tion and Act? Romiibis, after his death (as they 
report, or f aigne) sent a Present to the Romans ; 
That, above all, they should intend Armes; And 
then, they should prove the greatest Emph'e of 
the World. The Fabrick of the State of Sparta^ 
was wholly (though not wisely) framed, and com- 
posed, to that Scope and End. ^\iQ Pasians, 
and Macedonians, had it for a flash. The Galls, 
Germans, Goths, Saxons, Nonnans, and others, 
had it for a Time. The Turks have it, at this 
day, though in great Declination. Of Christian 
Europe, they that have it, are, in effect, onely 
the Spaniards. But it is so plaine. That every 
Man profiteth in that hee most intendeth, that it 
needeth not to be stood upon. It is enough to 
point at itj That no Nation, which doth not 
directly professe Armes, may looke to have 
Greatnesse fall into their Mouths. And, on the 
other side, it is a most Certaine Oracle of Time; 
That those States, that continue long in that Pro- 
fession (as the Romans and Tui'ks principally 
have done) do wonders. And those, that have 
professed Armes but for an Age, have notwith- 
standing, commonly, attained that Greatnesse in 
that Age, which maintained them long after, 
when their Profession and Exercise of Armes 
hath growen to decay. 



GREATNESSE OF KINGDOMES. 



129 



Incident to this Point is; For a State, to have 
those Lawes or Customes, which may reach forth 
unto them, just Occasions (as may be pretended) 
of Warre. For there is that Justice imprinted, 
in the Nature of Men, that they enter not upon 
Wars (whereof so many Calamities doe ensue) but 
upon some, at the least Specious, Grounds and 
Quarells. The Tm-ke, hath at hand, for Cause 
of Warre, the Propagation of his Law or Sect; 
A Quarell that he may alwaies Command. The 
Romans, though they esteemed, the Extending 
the Limits of their Empire, to be great Honour 
to their Generalls, when it was done, yet they 
never rested upon that alone, to begin a Warre. 
First therefore, let Nations, that pretend to 
Greatnesse, have this; That they be sensible of 
Wrongs, either upon Borderers, Merchants, or 
Politique Ministers; And that they sit not too 
long upon a Provocation. Secondly, let them 
be prest, and ready, to give Aids and Succours, 
to their Confederates: As it ever was with the 
Romans : In so much, as if the Confederate, had 
Leagues Defensive with divers other States, and 
upon Invasion offered, did implore their Aides 
severally, yet the Romans would ever bee the 
formost, and leave it to none Other to have the 
Honour. As for the Warres, which were anciently 
made, on the behalfe, of a kinde of Partie, or 



I30 ESS A YES. 

tacite Conformitie of Estate, I doe not see how 
they may be well justified: As when the Romans 
made a Wane for the Libertie of Grecia : Or 
when the Lacedemonians, and Athenians, made 
Wanes, to set up or pull downe Democracies, and 
Oligaixhies : Or when Warres were made by For- 
rainers, under the pretence of Justice, or Protec- 
tion, to deliver the Subjects of others, from 
Tyrannic, and Oppression; And the like. Let 
it suffice. That no Estate expect to be Gi'eat, 
that is not awake, upon any just Occasion of 
Arming. 

No Body can be healthfull without Exercise, 
neither Naturall Body, nor Politique : And cer- 
tainly, to a Kingdome or Estate, a Just and 
Honourable Warre, is the true Exercise. A 
Civill Warre, indeed, is like the Heat of a 
Feaver; But a Forraine Warre, is like the Heat 
of Exercise, and serveth to keepe the Body in 
Health : For in a Slothfull Peace, both Courages 
will effeminate, and Manners Corrupt. But how- 
soever it be for Happinesse, without all Ques- 
tion, for Greatnesse, it maketh, to bee still, for 
the most Part, in Amies: And the Strength of a 
Veteran Armie, (though it be a chargeable Busi- 
nesse) alwaies on Foot, is that, which commonly 
giveth the Law; Or at least the Reputation 
amongst all Neighbour States; As may well bee 



GREATNESSE OF KINGDOMES. 13 i 

seene in Spaine ; which hath had, in one Part or 
other, a Veteran Armie, ahuost continually, now 
by the Space of Six-score yeeres. 

To be Master of the Sea, is an Abridgement 
of a Monarchy. Cicero writing to Atiiciis, of 
Poinpey his Preparation against Ccesar, saithj 
Consilium Pompeij plane Themistocleum est ; Putat 
enim, qui Mari potitur, eum Re7'uin potiri. And, 
without doubt, Ponipey had tired out CcBsar, if 
upon vaine Confidence, he had not left that Way. 
We see the great Effects of Battailes by Sea. 
The Battaile of Actiuvi decided the Empire of 
the World. The Battaile of Lepanto arrested the 
Greatnesse of the Turke. There be many Exam- 
ples, where Sea-Fights have beene Finall to the 
warre; But this is, when Princes or States, have 
set up their Rest, upon the Battailes. But thus 
much is certaine; That hee that Commands the 
Sea, is at great liberty, and may take as much, 
and as little of the Warre, as he will. Whereas 
those, that be strongest by land, are many times 
nevertheless in great Straights. Surely, at this 
Day, with us of Europe, the Vantage of Strength 
at Sea (which is one of the Principall Dowries 
of this Kingdome of Great Brittaine^ is Great : 
Both because, Most of the Kingdomes of Europe, 
are not meerely Inland, but girt with the Sea, 
most part of their Compasse; And because, the 



132 ESS A YES. 

Wealth of both Lidies, seemes in great Part, but 
an Accessary, to the Command of the Seas. 

The Warres of Latter Ages, seeme to be made 
in the Darke, in Respect of the Glory and Hon- 
our, which reflected upon Men, from the Warres 
in Ancient Time. There be now, for Martiall 
Encouragement, some Degrees and Orders of 
Chivalry; which neverthelesse, are conferred 
promiscuously, upon Soldiers, & no Soldiers; 
And some Remembrance perhaps upon the Scut- 
chion; And some Hospitalsfor Maimed Soldiers; 
And such like Things. But in Ancient Times; 
The Trophies erected upon the Place of the Vic- 
tory; The Funerall Laudatives and Monuments 
for those that died in the Wars; The Crowns and 
Garlands Personal; The Stile of Emperor, which 
the Great Kings of the World after borrowed; 
The Triumphes of the Generalls upon their 
Returne; The great Donatives and Largesses 
upon the Disbanding of the Armies; were Things 
able to enflame all Mens Courages. But above 
all, That of the Triumph, amongst the Romans, 
was not Pageants or Gauderie, but one of the 
Wisest and Noblest Institutions, that ever was. 
For it contained three Things; Honour to the 
Generall; Riches to the Treasury out of the 
Spoiles; And Donatives to the Army. But that 
Honour, perhaps, were not fit for Monarchies ; 



OF REGIMENT OF HEALTH. 1 33 

Except it be in the Person of the Monarch him- 
selfe, or his Sonnes; As it came to passe, in the 
Times of the Roman Eviperours, who did impro- 
priate the Actuall Triumphs to Themselves, and 
their Sonnes, for such Wars, as they did atchieve 
in Person: And left onely, for Wars atchieved 
by Subjects, some Triumphall Garments, and 
Ensignes, to the Generall. 

To conclude; No Man can, by Care taking {d,^ 
the Sci'iptitre saith) adde a Cubite to his Stature ; 
in this little Modell of a Mans Body: But in the 
Great Frame of Kingdomes, & Common Wealths, 
it is in the power of Princes, or Estates, to adde 
Am.plitude and Greatnesse to their Kiiigdomes. 
For by introducing such Ordinances, Constitu- 
tions, and Customes, as we have now touched, 
they may sow Greatnesse, to their Posteritie, and 
Succession. But these Things are commonly not 
Observed, but left to take their Chance. 



XXX. 

OF REGIMENT OF HEALTH. 

There is a wisdome in this, beyond the Rules 
of Physicke : A Mans owne Observation, what he 
findes Good of, and what he findes Hurt of, is 
the best Physicke to preserve Health. But it is 



134 ESS A YES. 

a safer Conclusion to say; This agi'eeth not well 
with mey therefore I will not continue it; Then 
this; I find e no offence of this, therefore I may use 
it. For Strength of Nature in youth, passeth 
over many Excesses, which are owing a Man till 
his Age. Discerne of the comming on of Yeares, 
and thinke not, to doe the same Things still; 
For Age will not be Defied. Beware of sudden 
Change in any great point of Diet, and if neces- 
sity inforce it, fit the rest to it. For it is a 
Secret, both in Nature, and State; That it is 
safer to change Many Things, then one. Exam- 
ine thy Customes, of Diet, Sleepe, Exercise, 
Apparell, and the like; And trie in any Thing, 
thou shalt judge hurtfull, to discontinue it by 
little and little; But so, as if thou doest finde 
any Inconvenience by the Change, thou come 
backe to it againe : For it is hard to distinguish, 
that which is generally held good, and whole- 
some, from that, which is good particularly, and 
fit for thine owne Body. To be free minded, 
and cheerefuUy disposed, at Houres of Meat, and 
of Sleep, and of Exercise, is one of the best 
Precepts of Long lasting. As for the Passions 
and Studies of the Minde; Avoid Envie; Anxious 
Feares; Anger fretting inwards; Subtill and 
knottie Inquisitions; Joyes, and Exhilarations 
in Excesse; Sadnesse not Communicated. En- 



OF REGIMENT OF HEALTH. 135 

tertaine Hopes; Mirth rather then Joy; Varietie 
of Delights, rather then Surf et of them; Wonder, 
and Admiration, and therefore Novelties; Studies 
that fill the Minde with Splendide and Illustrious 
Objects, as Histories, Fables, and Contempla- 
tion of Nature. If you flie Physicke in Health 
altogether, it will be too strange for your Body, 
when you shall need it. If you make it too 
familiar, it will worke no Extraordinary Effect, 
when Sicknesse commeth. I commend rather, 
some Diet, for certaine Seasons, then frequent 
Use of Physicke, Except it be growen into a Cus- 
tome. For those Diets alter the Body more, and 
trouble it lesse. Despise no new Accident, in 
your Body, but aske Opinion of it. In Sick- 
nesse, respect HeaWi principally; And in Health, 
Action. For those that put their Bodies, to en- 
dure in Health, may in most Sickiiesses, which 
are not very sharpe, be cured onely with Diet, 
and Tendering. Celsus could never have spoken 
it as a Physician, had he not been a Wise Man 
withall; when he giveth it, for one of the great 
precepts of Health and Lasting; That a Man doe 
vary, and enterchange Contraries; But with an 
Inclination to the more benigne Extreme : Use 
Fasting, and full Eating, but rather full Eating; 
Watching and Sleep, but rather Sleep; Sitting, 
and Exercise, but rather Exercise; and the like. 



I 36 ESS A YES. 

So shall Nature be cherished, and yet taught 
Masteries. Physicians are some of them so 
pleasing, and conformable to the Humour of 
the Patient, as they presse not the true Cure 
of the Disease; And some other are so regular, 
in proceeding according to Art, for the Disease, 
as they respect not sufficiently the Condition of 
the Patient. Take one of a Middle Temper; 
Or if it may not be found in one Man, combine 
two of either sort: And forget not to call, as well 
the best acquainted with your Body, as the best 
reputed of for his Faculty. 



XXXI. 

OF SUSPICION. 

Suspicions amongst Thoughts, are like Bats 
amongst Birds, they ever fly by Twilight. Cer- 
tainly, they are to be repressed, or, at the least, 
well guarded: For they cloud the Minde; they 
leese Frends; and they checke with Businesse, 
whereby Businesse cannot goe on, currantly, and 
constantly. They dispose Kings to Tyranny, 
Husbands to Jealousie, Wise Men to Irresolution 
and Melancholy. They are Defects, not in the 
Heart, but in the Braine; For they take Place in 
the Stoutest Natures: As in the Example of 



OF SUSPICION. 137 

Henry the Seventh of England : there was not a 
more Suspicious Man, nor a more Stout. And in 
such a Composition, they doe small Hurt. For 
commonly they are not admitted, but with Ex- 
amination, whether they be likely or no? But 
in fearefull Natures, they gaine Ground too fast. 
There is Nothing makes a Man Suspect much, 
more then to Know little: And therefore Men 
should remedy Suspicion, by procuring to know 
more, and not to keep their Suspicions in Smother. 
What would Men have ? Doe they thinke, those 
they employ and deale with, are Saints? Doe 
they not thinke, they will have their owne Ends, 
and be truer to Themselves, then to them? 
Therefore, there is no better Way to moderate 
Suspicions, then to account upon such Suspicions 
as true, and yet to bridle them, as false. For so 
farre, a Man ought to make use of Suspicions, as 
to provide, as if that should be true, that he Stis- 
pccts, yet it may doe him no Hurt. Suspicion, 
that the Minde, of it selfe, gathers, are but 
Buzzes; But Suspicions, that are artificially nour- 
ished, and put into Mens Heads, by the Tales, 
and Whisprings of others, have Stings. Cer- 
tainly, the best Meane, to cleare the Way, in 
this same Wood of Suspicions, is franckly to 
communicate them, with the Partie, that he Sus- 
pects ; For thereby, he shall be sure, to know 



138 ESSAVJSS. 

more of the Truth of them, then he did before; 
And withall, shall make that Party, more circum- 
spect, not to give further Cause of Suspicion. 
But this would not be done to Men of base 
Natures : For they, if they finde themselves once 
suspected, will never be true. The Italian sales : 
Sospetto licentia fede : As if Suspicion did give a 
Pasport to Faith: But it ought rather to kindle 
it, to discharge it selfe. 



XXXII. 

OF DISCOURSE. 

Some in their Discourse, desire rather Com- 
mendation of Wit, in being able to hold all 
Arguments, then of Judgment, in discerning 
what is True: As if it were a Praise, to know 
what might be Said, and not what should be 
Thought. Some have certaine Common Places, 
and Theames, wherein they are good, and want 
Variety : Which kinde of Poverty is for the most 
part Tedious, and when it is once perceived 
Ridiculous. The Honourablest Part of Talke, 
is to give the Occasion; And againe to Moderate 
and passe to somewhat else; For then a Man leads 
the Daunce. It is good, in Discourse, and Speech 
of Conversation, to vary, and entermingle Speech, 



OF DISCOURSE. 1 39 

of the present Occasion with Arguments; Tales 
with Reasons; Asking of Questions, with telling 
of Opinions; and Jest with Earnest: For it is a 
dull Thing to Tire, and, as we say now, to Jade, 
any Thing too farre. As for Jest, there be cer- 
taine Things, which ought to be priviledged from 
it; Namely Religion, Matters of State, Great 
Persons, Any Mans present Businesse of Impor- 
tance, And any Case that deserveth Pitty. Yet 
there be some, that thinke their Wits have been 
asleepe; Except they dart out somewhat, that is 
Piquant, and to the Quicke: That is a Vaine, 
which would be brideled; 

Farce Piier stimiilis, ^^ fortius utere Loris. 

And generally. Men ought to finde the difference, 
between Saltnesse and Bitternesse. Certainly, 
he that hath a Satyricall vaine, as he maketh others 
afraid of his Wit, so he had need be afraid of 
others Memory. He that questioneth much, shall 
learne much, and content much; But especially, 
if he apply his Questions, to the Skill of the Per- 
sons, whom he asketh: For he shall give them 
occasion, to please themselves in Speaking, and 
himselfe shall continually gather Knowledge. 
But let his Questions, not be troublesome; For 
that is fit for a Poser. And let him be sure, to 
leave other Men their Turnes to speak. Nay, if 



I40 ESS A YES. 

there be any, that would raigne, and take up all 
the time, let him finde meanes to take them off, 
and to bring Others on; As Musicians use to doe, 
with those, that dance too long Galliards. If 
you dissemble sometimes your knowledge, of that 
you are thought to know; you shall be thought 
another time, to know that, you know not. 
Speach of a Mans Self e ought to be seldome, and 
well chosen. I knew One, was wont to say, in 
Scorne; He must needs be a Wise Man, he speakes 
so much of Hbnselfe : And there is but one Case, 
wherein a Man may Commend Himselfe, with 
good Grace; And that is in commending Vertue 
in Another; Especially, if it be ^uch a Vertue, 
whereunto Himselfe pretendeth. Speech of 
Touch towards Others, should be sparingly used : 
For Discourse ought to be as a Field, without 
comming home to any Man. I knew two Noble- 
men, of the West Part of England ; Whereof the 
one was given to Scoffe, but kept ever Royal 
Cheere in his House : The other, would aske of 
those, that had beene at the Others Table ; Tell 
truely, was there never a Flout or drie Blow given ; 
To which the Guest would answer; Such and such 
a Thing passed : The Lord would say; / thought 
he would ma7're a good Dinner. Discretion of 
Speech, is more then Eloquence ; And to speak 
agreeably to him, with whom we deale, is more 



OF PLANTATIONS. 14I 

then to speake in good Words, or in good Order. 
A good continued Speech, without a good Speech 
of Interlocution, shews Slownesse : And a Good 
Reply, or Second Speech, without a good Setled 
Speech, sheweth Shallownesse and Weaknesse. 
As we see in Beasts, that those that are Weakest 
in the Course, are yet Nimblest in the Turne: 
As it is betwixt the Grey-hound, & the Hare. To 
use too many Circumstances, ere one come to 
the Matter, is Wearisome; To use none at all, 
is Blunt. 



XXXIII. 

OF PLANTATIONS. 

Plantations are amongst Ancient, Primitive, 
and Heroicall Workes. When the World was 
young, it begate more Children; But now it is 
old, it begets fewer: For I may justly account 
new Plantations, to be the Children of former 
Kingdomes. I like a Plantation in a Pure Soile; 
that is, where People are not Displanted, to the 
end, to Plant in Others. For else, it is rather 
an Extirpation, then a Plantation. Planting of 
Countries, is like Planting of Woods; For you 
must make account, to leese almost Twenty yeeres 
Profit, and expect your Recompence, in the end. 



142 £SSAY£S. 

For the Principall Thing, that hath beene the 
Destruction of most Plantatio7is, hath beene the 
Base, and Hastie drawing of Profit, in the first 
Yeeres. It is true, Speedie Profit is not to be 
neglected, as farre as may stand, with the Good 
of the Plantatio7i, but no further. It is a Shame- 
full and Unblessed Thing, to take the Scumme of 
People, and Wicked Condemned Men, to be the 
People with whom you Plant: And not only so, 
but it spoileth the Plantation ; For they will ever 
live like Rogues, and not fall to worke, but be 
Lazie, and doe Mischiefe, and spend Victuals, 
and be quickly weary, and then Certifie over to 
their Country, to the Discredit of the Plantation. 
The People wherewith you Plants ought to be 
Gardners, Plough-men, Labourers, Smiths, Car- 
penters, Joyners, Fisher-men, Fowlers, with some 
few Apothecaries, Surgeons, Cookes, and Bakers. 
In a Country of Plantation^ first looke about, 
what kinde of Victuall, the Countrie yeelds of it 
selfe, to Hand: As Chestnuts, Wallnuts, Pine- 
Apples, Olives, Dates, Plummes, Cherries, Wilde- 
Hony, and the like : and make use of them. 
Then consider, what Victuall or Esculent Things 
there are, which grow speedily, and within the 
yeere; As Parsnips, Garrets, Turnips, Onions, 
Radish, Artichokes of Hierusalem, Maiz, and 
the like. For Wheat, Barly, and Oats, they aske 



OF PLANTATIONS. 1 43 

too much Labour : But with Pease, and Beanes, 
you may begin; Both because they aske lesse 
Labour, and because they serve for Meat, as well 
as for Bread. And of Rice likewise commeth a 
great Encrease, and it is a kinde of Meat. Above 
all, there ought to be brought Store of Bisket, 
Oat-meale, Flower, Meale, and the like, in the 
beginning, till Bread may be had. For Beasts, 
or Birds, take chiefly such, as are least Subject 
to Diseases, and Multiply fastest: As Swine, 
Goats, Cockes, Hennes, Turkies, Geese, House- 
doves, and the like. The Victuall in Plantations, 
ought to be expended almost as in a Besieged 
Towne; That is, with certaine Allowance. And 
let the Maine Part of the Ground employed to 
Gardens or Corne, bee to a Common Stocke; And 
to be Laid in, and Stored up, and then Delivered 
out in Proportion; Besides some Spots of Ground, 
that any Particular Person, will Manure, for his 
owne Private. Consider likewise, what Com- 
modities the Soile, where the Plantation is, doth 
naturally yeeld, that they may some way helpe to 
defray the Charge of the Plantation : So it be not, 
as was said, to the untimely Prejudice, of the 
maine Businesse; As it hath fared with Tobacco 
in Virginia. Wood commonly aboundeth but too 
much; And therefore, Timber is fit to be one. 
If there be Iron Ure, and Streames whereupon to 



144 ES SAVES. 

set the Milles; Iron is a brave Commoditie, 
where Wood aboundeth. Making of Bay Salt, if 
the Climate be proper for it, would be put in 
Experience. Growing Silke likewise, if any be, 
is a likely Commoditie. Pitch and Tarre, where 
store of Firres and Pines are, will not faile. So 
Drugs, and Sweet Woods, where they are, cannot 
but yeeld great Profit. Soape Ashes likewise, 
and other Things, that may be thought of. But 
moile not too much under Ground : For the Hope 
of Mines is very Uncertaine, and useth to make 
the Pla7iters Lazie, in other Things. For Gov- 
ernment, let it be in the Hands of one, assisted 
with some Counsell: And let them have Com- 
mission, to exercise Martiall Lawes, with some 
limitation. And above all, let Men make that 
Profit of being in the Wildernesse, as they have 
God alwaies, and his Service, before their Eyes. 
Let not the Government of the Plantation, depend 
upon too many Counsellours, and Undertakers, 
in the Countrie that Flanteth, but upon a tem- 
perate Number : And let those be, rather Noble- 
men, and Gentlemen, then Merchants : For they 
looke ever to the present Gaine. Let there be 
Freedornes from Custome, till the Plantation be 
of Strength : And not only Freedome from Cus- 
tome, but Freedome to carrie their Commodities, 
where they may make their Best of them, except 



OF PLANTATIONS. 1 45 

there be some speciall Cause of Caution. 
Cramme not in People, by sending too fast, 
Company, after Company; But rather hearken 
how they waste, and send Supplies proportion- 
ably; But so, as the Number may live well, in 
the Plantation, and not by Surcharge be in 
Penury. It hath beene a great Endangering, to 
the Health of some Plantations^ that they have 
built along the Sea, and Rivers, in Marish and 
unwholesome Grounds. Therefore, though you 
begin there, to avoid Carriage, and other like 
Discommodities, yet build still, rather upwards, 
from the Streames, then along. It concerneth 
likewise the Health, of the Plantation, that they 
have good Store of Salt with them, that they 
may use it, in their Victualls, when it shall be 
necessary. If you Plant, where Savages are, 
doe not onely entertaine them with Trifles, and 
Gingles; But use them justly, and gratiously, 
with sufficient Guard neverthelesse : And doe not 
winne their favour, by helping them to invade 
their Enemies, but for their Defence it is not 
amisse. And send oft of them, over to the 
Country, that Plants, that they may see a better 
Condition then their owne, and commend it 
when they return. When the Plantation grows to 
Strength, then it is time, to Plant \\\\}pl Women, 
as well as with Men; That the Plantation may 



146 ESS A YES. 

spread into Generations, and not be ever peeced 
from without. It is the sinfullest Thing in the 
world, to forsake or destitute a Plantation, once 
in Forwardnesse : For besides the Dishonour, it is 
the Guiltinesse of Bloud, of many Commiserable 
Persons. 



XXXIIII. 

OF RICHES. 

I CANNOT call Riches better, then the Baggage 
of Vertue. The Roman Word is better. Impedi- 
menta. For as the Baggage is to an Army, so is 
Riches to Vertue. It cannot be spared, nor left 
behinde, but it hindreth the March; Yea, and 
the care of it, sometimes, loseth or disturbeth the 
Victory. Of great Riches, there is no Reall Use, 
except it be in the Distribution; The rest is but 
Conceit. So saith Salomon; Where 7nuch is, 
there are Many to consm?ie it ; And what hath the 
Ozvner, but the Sight of it, with his Eyes ? The 
Personal 1 Fruition in any Man, cannot reach to 
feele Great Riches : There is a Custody of them; 
Or a Power of Dole and Donative of them; Or 
a Fame of them; But no Solid Use to the Owner. 
Doe you not see, what fained Prices, are set upon 
little Stones, and Rarities? And what Works of 



OF RICHES. 147 

Ostentation, are undertaken, because there might 
seeme to be, some Use of great Riches ? But then 
you will say, they may be of use, to buy Men out 
of Dangers or Troubles. As Salomon saith; 
Riches are as a strong Hold, in the Imagination of 
the Rich Man. But this is excellently expressed, 
that it is in Imagination, and not alwaies in Fact. 
For certainly Great Riches, have sold more Men, 
then they have bought out. Seeke not Proud 
Riches, but such as thou maist get justly, Use 
soberly. Distribute cheerefully, and Leave con- 
tentedly. Yet have no Abstract nor Friarly Con- 
tempt of them. But distinguish, as Cicero saith 
well of Rabirius Posthumus; In studio rei a?npli- 
ficandce, appai-ebat, non Avaritice PrcEdani, sed 
Instrumentiim Bonitati, quceri. Hearken also to 
Salomon, and beware of Hasty Gathering of 
Riches : Qui festinat ad Divitias, non erit insons. 
The Poets faigne that when Plutus, (which is 
Riches,) is sent ix ova. Jupiter, he limps, and goes 
slowly; But when he is sent from Pluto, he runnes, 
and is Swift of Foot. Meaning, that Riches gotten 
by Good Meanes, and Just Labour, pace slowly; 
But when they come by the death of Others, (As 
by the Course of Inheritance, Testaments, and 
the like,) they come tumbling upon a Man. But 
it mought be applied likewise to Pluto, taking 
him for the Devill. For when Riches come from 



148 ESS A YES. 

the Devill, (as by Fraud, and Oppression, and 
unjust Meanes,) they come upon Speed. The 
IVaies to enrich are many, and most of them 
Foule. Parsimony is one of the best, and yet is 
not Innocent: For it with-holdeth Men, from 
Workes of Liberality, and Charity. The Tm- 
provejnent of the Ground, is the most Naturall 
Obtaining of Riches ; For it is our Great Mothers 
Blessing, the Earths; But it is slow. And yet, 
where Men of great wealth, doe stoope to hus- 
bandry, it multiplieth Riches exceedingly. I 
knew a Nobleman in Enghmd, that had the great- 
est Audits, of any Man in my Time: A Great 
Grasier, A Great Sheepe-Master, A Great Timber 
Man, A Great Colliar, A Great Corne-Master, A 
Great Lead-Man, and so of Iron, and a Number 
of the like Points of Husbandry. So as the 
Earth seemed a Sea to him, in respect of the 
Perpetuall Importation. It was truly observed 
by One, that Himselfe came very hardly to a 
Little Riches, and very easily to Great Riches. 
For when a Mans Stocke is come to that, that 
he can expect the Prime of Markets, and over- 
come those Bargaines, which for their greatnesse 
are few Mens Money, and be Partner in the 
Industries of Younger Men, he cannot but en- 
crease mainely. The Gaines of Ordinary Trades 
and Vocations, are honest; And furthered by two 



OF RICHES. 149 

Things, chiefly: By Diligence; And By a good 
Name, for good and faire dealing. But the 
Gaines of Bargaines, are of a more doubtful 1 
Nature; When Men shall waite upon Others 
Necessity, broake by Servants and Instruments 
to draw them on. Put off Others cunningly that 
would be better Chapmen, and the like Practises, 
which are Crafty and Naught. As for the Chop- 
ping of Bargaines, when a Man Buies, not to 
Hold, but to Sell over againe, that commonly 
Grindeth double, both upon the Seller, and upon 
the Buyer. Sharings, doe greatly Em-ich, if the 
Hands be well chosen, that are trusted. Usury 
is the certainest Meanes of Gaine, though one 
of the worst; As that, whereby a Man doth eate 
his Bread; In siidoj^e vtiltus alieiii : And besides, 
doth Plough upon Sundaies. But yet Certaine 
though it be, it hath Flawes; For that the Scrive- 
ners and Broakers, doe valew unsound Men, to 
serve their own Turne. The Fortune, in being 
the First in an Invention or in a Privikdge, doth 
cause sometimes a wonderfull Overgrowth in 
Riches ; As it was with the first Sugar Man, in the 
Ca?iaries : Therefore, if a Man can play the true 
Logician, to have as well Judgement, as Inven- 
tion, he may do great Matters; especially if the 
Times be fit. He that resteth upon Gaines Cer- 
taine, shall hardly grow to great Riches : And he 



1 50 ESSA YES. 

that puts all upon Adve?ttures, doth often times 
breake, and come to Poverty: It is good there- 
fore, to guard Adventures with Certainties, that 
may uphold losses. Monopolies, and Coemption 
of Wares for Resale, where they are not re- 
strained, are great Meanes to enrich; especially, 
if the Partie have intelligence, what Things are 
like to come into Request, and so store Hiraselfe 
before hand. Riches gotten by Sej-vice, though 
it be of the best Rise, yet when they are gotten 
by Flattery, Feeding Humours, and other Servile 
Conditions, they may be placed amongst the 
Worst. As for Fishing for Testaments and Ex- 
ecutorships (as Tacitus saith of Seneca; Testa- 
7nenta et Orbos, tanquam hidagine capi ;') It is 
yet worse; By how much Men submit themselves, 
to Meaner Persons, then in Sei-vice. Beleeve 
not much them, that seeme to despise Riches ; 
For they despise them, that despaire of them; 
And none Worse, when they come to them. Be 
not Penny-wise; Riches have Wings, and some- 
times they Fly away of themselves, sometimes 
they must be set Flying to bring in more. Men 
leave their Riches, either to their Kindred; Or 
to the Publique : And moderate Portions prosper 
best in both. A great State left to an Heire, is 
as a Lure to all the Birds of Prey, round about, 
to seize on him, if he be not the better stablished 



OF PROPHECIES. I51 

in Yeares and Judgement. Likewise Glorious 
Gifts and Foundations, are like Sacrifices with- 
out Salt ; And but the Painted Sepulchres of Almes^ 
which soone will putrifie, and corrupt inwardly. 
Therefore, Measure not thine Advancements by 
Quantity, but Frame them by Measure; and 
Deferre not Charities till Death : For certainly, 
if a Man weigh it rightly, he that doth so, is 
rather Liberall of an Other Mans, then of his 
Owne. 



XXXV. 

OF PROPHECIES. 

I MEANE not to speake of Divine Prophecies ; 
Nor of Heathen Oracles; Nor of Naturall Predic- 
tions; But only of Prophecies, that have beene of 
certaine Memory, and from Hidden Causes. 
Saith the Pythonissa to Saul ; To Morrow thou 
and thy sonne shall be with vie. Houier hath 
these Verses. 

At Do?nus .^7ie(E cunctis dominabitur Oris, 
Et Nati Natorujn, &= qui nascetitur ab illis : 

A Prophecie, as it seemes, of the Ro??ian Empire, 
Seneca the Tragedian hath these Verses. 



152 ESS A YES. 



Venient Annis 



Secula seris, quibus Oceanus 
Vinctda Re rum laxet, 6^ in gens 
Pa teat Tellus, Typhis que novos 
Detegat Orbes ; nee sit Terris 
Ultima Thule : 

A Prophecie of the Discovery of America. The 
Daughter of Po/ycrates dreamed, that Jupiter 
bathed her Father, and Apollo annointed him: 
And it came to passe, that he was crucified in 
an Open Place, where the Sunne made his Bodie 
runne with Sweat, and the Raine washed it. 
Philip of Mace don dreamed. He sealed up his 
Wives Belly : Whereby he did expound it, that 
his Wife should be barren: But Aristander the 
Soothsayer, told him, his Wife was with Childe, 
because Men doe not use to Seale Vessells that 
are emptie. A Phantasme, that appeared to M. 
Brutus in his Tent, said to him; Philippis iteriim 
me vide bis. Tiberius said to Galba : Tu quoque 
Galba degustabis luperium. In Vcspasians^xviMt, 
there went a Propliecie in the East; That those 
that should come forth of Judea, should reign 
over the World : which though it may be was 
meant of our Saviour, yet Tacitus expounds it 
of Vespasian. Domitian dreamed, the Night 
before he was slaine, that a Golden Head was 



OF PROPHECIES. I 53 

growing out of the Nape of his Necke : And 
indeed, the Succession that followed him, for 
many yeares, made Golden Times. Henry the 
Sixt of Englandy said of Henry the Seventh, when 
he was a Lad, and gave him Water; This is the 
Lad, that shall enjoy the Crowne, for which we 
strive. When I was in France, I heard from one 
D'". Pena, that the Q. MotJier, who was given to 
Curious Arts, caused the King her Husbands 
Nativitie, to be Calculated, under a false Name; 
And the Astrologer gave a Judgement, that he 
should be killed in a Duell; At which the Queene 
laughed, thinking her Husband, to be above 
Challenges and Duels: but he was slaine, upon 
a Course at Tilt, the Splinters of the Staffe of 
Mongomery, going in at his Bever. The triviall 
Frophecie, which I heard, when I was a Childe, 
and Queene Elizabeth was in the Flower of her 
Yeares, was; 

When Hempe is sponne ; 
England's done. 

Whereby, it was generally conceived, that 
after the Frinces had Reigned, which had the 
Principiall Letters, of that Word Hempe, (which 
were Henry, Edward, Mary, Fhilip, and Eliza- 
beth) England should come to utter Confusion: 
Which, thankes be to God, is verified only, 



I 54 ESS A YES. 

in the Change of the Name : For. that the Kings 
Stile, is now no more of England, but of Britaine. 
There was also another Prophecic, before the year 
of ZZ. which I doe not well understand. 

There shall be scene up07i a day, 
Betweene the Baugh, and the May, 
The Blacke Fleet of Norway. 
When that that is come and gone ^ 
England build Houses of Lime and Stone 
For after Warres shall you have None. 

It was generally conceived, to be meant of the 
Spanish Fleet, that came in 88. For that the 
King oi Spaities Surname, as they say, is No7"way. 
The Prediction of Regiomontanus ; 

Octogessimus octavus ??iirabilis Annus ; 

Was thought likewise accomplished, in the Send- 
ing of that great Fleet, being the greatest in 
Strength, though not in Number, of all that ever 
swamme upon the Sea. As for Cleons Dreame, I 
thinke it was a Jest. It was, that he was devoured 
of a long Dragon; And it was expounded of a 
Maker of Sausages, that troubled him exceed- 
ingly. There are Numbers of the like kinde; 
Especially if you include Di^eames, and Predic- 
tions of Astrologie. But I have set downe these 
few onely of certaine Credit, for Example. My 



OF PROPHECIES. 1 55 

Judgement is, that they ought all to be Despised; 
And ought to serve, but for Winter Talke, by the 
Fire side. Though when I say Despised^ I meane 
it as for Beleefe : For otherwise, the Spreading or 
Publishing of them, is in no sort to be Despised, 
For they have done much Mischiefe : And I see 
many severe Lawes made to suppresse them. 
That, that hath given them Grace, and some 
Credit, consisteth in three Things. First, that 
Men marke, when they hit, and never marke, 
when they misse : As they doe, generally, also of 
D7'ea7nes. The second is, that Probable Con- 
jectures, or obscure Traditions, many times, 
turne themselves into Prophecies: While the 
Nature of Man, which coveteth Divination^ 
thinkes it no Perill to foretell that, which indeed 
they doe but collect. As that of Seneca's Verse. 
For so much was then subject to Demonstration, 
that the Globe of the Earth, had great Parts 
beyond the Atlanticke; which mought be Prob- 
ably conceived, not to be all Sea: And adding 
thereto, the Tradition in Plato's Timeiis, and his 
Atlanticus, it mought encourage One, to turne it 
to a Prediction. The third, and Last (which is 
the Great one) is, that almost all of them, being 
infinite in Number, have beene Impostures, and 
by idle and craftie Braines, meerely contrived 
and faigned, after the Event Past. 



56 ESSAYES. 



XXXVI. 

OF AMBITION. 

Ambition is like Choler ; Which is an Humour, 
that maketh Men Active, Earnest, Full of Alac- 
ritie, and stirring, if it be not stopped. But if 
it be stopped, and cannot have his Way, it becom- 
meth Adust, and thereby Maligne and Venom- 
ous. So Ambitions Men, if they finde the way 
Open for their Rising, and still get forward, they 
are rather Busie then Dangerous; But if they be 
check't in their desires, they become secretly 
discontent, and looke upon Men and matters, with 
an Evill Eye; And are best pleased, when Things 
goe backward; Which is the worst Propertie, in 
a Servant of a Prince or State. Therefore it is 
good for Princes, if they use Ambitions Men, to 
handle it so, as they be still Progressive, and not 
Retrograde : Which because it cannot be without 
Inconvenience, it is good not to use such Natures 
at all. For if they rise not with their Service, 
they will take Order to make their Service fall 
with them. But since we have said, it were good 
not to use Men of Ambitions Natures, except it 
be upon necessitie, it is fit we speake, in what 



OF AMBITION. I 5/ 

Cases, they are of necessitie. Good Commanders 
in the Warres, must be taken, be they never so 
A77ibitiotis : For the Use of their Service dispenseth 
with the rest; And to take a Soldier without Am- 
bition^ is to pull off his Spurres. There is also 
great use of Ambitious Men, in being Skreenes to 
Princes, in Matters of Danger and Envie: For 
no Man will take that Part, except he be like a 
Seel'd Dove, that mounts and mounts, because 
he cannot see about him. There is Use also of 
Ambitious Men in pulling downe the Greatnesse, 
of any Subject that over-tops: As Tiberius used 
Macro in the Pulling down of Sejmius. Since 
therefore they must be used, in such Cases, there 
resteth to speake, how they are to be brideled, 
that they may be lesse dajigerous. There is lesse 
danger of them, if they be of Meane Birth, then 
if they be Noble : And if they be rather Harsh 
of Nature, then Gracious and Popular: And if 
they be rather New Raised, then growne Cun- 
ning, and Fortified in their Greatnesse. It is 
counted by some, a weakness in Princes, to have 
Favorites: But it is, of all others, the best 
Remedy against Ambitious Great- Ones. For 
when the Way of Pleasuring and Displeasuring, 
lieth by the Favourite, it is Impossible, Any Other 
should be Over-great. Another meanes to curbe 
them, is to Ballance them by others, as Proud as 



158 ESS A YES. 

they. But then, there must be some Middle 
Counsellours, to keep Things steady : For without 
that Ballast, the Ship will roule too much. At 
the least, a Prince may animate and inure some 
Meaner Persons, to be, as it were, Scourges to 
Affibitious Men. As for the having of them 
Obnoxious to Ruine if they be of fearefull 
Natures, it may doe well : But if they bee Stout, 
and Daring, it may precipitate their Designes, 
and prove dangerous. As for the pulling of 
them downe, if the Affaires require it, and that 
it may not be done with safety suddainly, the 
onely Way is, the Enterchange continually of 
Favours, and Disgraces; whereby they may not 
know, what to expect; And be, as it were, in a 
Wood. Of Ambitions, it is lesse harmefull, the 
Ambition to prevaile in great Things, then that 
other, to appeare in every thing; For that breeds 
Confusion, and marres Businesse. But yet, it is 
lesse danger, to have an Ambitious Man, stirring 
in Businesse, then Great in Dependances. He 
that seeketh to be Eminent amongst Able Men, 
hath a great Taske; but that is ever good for the 
Publique. But he that plots, to be the onely 
Figure amongst Ciphars, is the decay of an whole 
Age. Honoii?' hath three Things in it: The 
Vantage Ground to doe good : The Approach to 
Kings, and principall Persons: And the Raising 



OF MASQUES AND TRIUMPHS. 159 

of a Mans owne Fortunes. He that hath the 
best of these Intentions, when he aspireth, is an 
Honest Man : And that Prince, that can discerne 
of these Intentions, in Another that aspireth, is 
a wise Prince. Generally, let Princes and States, 
choose such Ministers, as are more sensible of 
Duty, then of Rising; And such as love Busi- 
nesse rather upon Conscience, then upon Bravery : 
And let them Discerne a Busie Nature, from a 
Willing Minde. 



XXXVII. 

OF MASQUES AND TRIUMPHS. 

These Things are but Toyes, to come amongst 
such Serious Observations. But yet, since 
Princes will have such Things, it is better, they 
should be Graced with Elegancy, then Daubed 
with Cost. Da7icing to Song, is a Thing of great 
State and Pleasure. I understand it, that the 
Song be in Quire, placed aloft, and accompanied 
with some broken Musicke : And the Ditty fitted 
to the Device. Acting in Song, especially in 
Dialogues, hath an extreme Good Grace : I say 
Acting, not Dancing (For that is a Meane and 
Vulgar Thing;) And the Voices of the Dialogue, 
would be Strong and Manly, (A Base, and a 



l6o ESS A YES. 

Tenour; No Treble;) and the Ditty High and 
Tragicall; Not nice or Dainty. Severall Quires^ 
placed one over against another, and taking the 
Voice by Catches, Antheme wise, give great Pleas- 
ure. Turning Dances into Figure^ is a childish 
Curiosity. And generally, let it be noted, that 
those Things, which I here set downe, are such, 
as doe naturally take the Sense, and not respect 
Petty Wonderments. It is true, the Alterations 
of Scenes, so it be quietly, and without Noise, 
are Things of great Beauty, and Pleasure : For 
they feed and relieve the Eye, before it be full 
of the same Object. Let the Scenes abound with 
Light, specially Coloured and Varied : And let 
the Masquers, or any other, that are to come 
down from the Scenes, have some Motions, upon 
the Scene it selfe, before their Comming down : 
For it drawes the Eye strangely, & makes it with 
great pleasure, to desire to see that, it cannot 
perfectly discerne. Let the Songs be Loud, and 
Cheerefull, and not Chirpings, or Pulings. Let 
the Musicke likewise, be Sharpc, and Loud, and 
Well Placed. The Colours, that shew best by 
Candlelight are; White, Carnation, and a Kinde 
of Sea-Water-Greene; And Oes, or Spangs, as 
they are of no great Cost, so they are of most 
Glory. As for Rich Embroidery, it is lost, and 
not Discerned. Let the Sutes of the Masquers, 



OF MASQUES AND TRIUMPHS. l6l 

be Graceful!, and such as become the Person, 
when the Vizars are off : Not after Examples of 
Knowne Attires; Turks, Soldiers, Mariners, and 
the like. Let Anti-masques not be long; They 
have been commonly of Fooles, Satyres, Baboones, 
Wilde-Men, Antiques, Beasts, Sprites, Witches, 
Ethiopes, Pigmies, Turquets, Nimphs, Rusticks, 
Cupids, Statua's Moving, and the like. As for 
Angels, it is not Comicall enough, to put them in 
Anti- Masques ; And any Thing that is hideous, 
as Devils, Giants, is on the other side as unfit. 
But chiefly, let the Musicke of them, be Recrea- 
tive, and with some strange Changes. Some 
Sweet Odours, suddenly comming forth, without 
any drops falling, are, in such a Company, as 
there is Steame and Heat, Things of great Pleas- 
ure; & Refreshment. Double Masques, one of 
Men, another of Ladies, addeth State, and 
Variety. But All is Nothing, except the Roome 
be kept Cleare, and Neat. 

For Justs, and Touj-neys, and Barriers ; The 
Glories of them, are chiefly in the Chariots, 
wherein the Challengers make their Entry; Espe- 
cially if they be drawne with Strange Beasts; As 
Lions, Beares, Cammels, and the like : Or in the 
Devices of their Entrance; Or in the Bravery of 
their Liveries; Or in the Goodly Furniture of their 
Horses, and Armour. But enough of these Toyes. 



1 62 ESS A YES. 



XXXVIII. 

OF NATURE IN MEN. 



Nature is Often Hidden; Sometimes Over- 
come; Seldome Extinguished. Force maketh 
Nature more violent in the Returne: Doctrine 
and Discourse maketh Nature lesse importune : 
But Custome onely doth alter and subdue Nature. 
Hee that seeketh Victory over his Natui-e, let him 
not set Himselfe too great, nor too small Tasks: 
For the first, will make him dejected by often 
Faylings : And the Second will make him a small 
Proceeder, though by often Prevailings. And 
at the first, let him practise with Helps, as 
Swimmers doe with Bladders, or Rushes: But 
after a Time, let him practise with disadvan- 
tages, as Dancers doe with thick Shooes. For it 
breeds great Perfection, if the Practise be harder 
then the use. Where Nature is Mighty, and 
therefore the Victory hard, the Degrees had need 
be; First to Stay and Arrest Natin-e in Time; 
Like to Him, that would say over the Foure and 
Twenty Letters, when he was Angry: Then to 
Goe lesse in Quantity; As if one should, in for- 
bearing Wine, come from Drinking Healths, to 



OF NATURE IN MEN. 1 63 

a Draught at a Meale : And lastly, to Discontinue 
altogether. But if a Man have the Fortitude, 
and Resolution, to enfranchise Himselfeatonce, 
that is the best; 

Optimus ilk Aniini Vindex, ladentia pectus 
Vincida qui 7'upit, dedoluitque semel. 

Neither is the Ancient Rule amisse, to bend 
Nature as a Wand, to a Contrary Extreme, 
whereby to set it right : Understanding it, where 
the Contrary Extreme is no Vice. Let not a 
man force a Habit upon himselfe, with a Per- 
petuall Continuance, but with some Intermission. 
For both the Pause, reinforceth the new Onset; 
And if a Man, that is not perfect, be ever in 
Practise, he shall as well practise his Errours, as 
his Abilities; And induce one Habite of both: 
And there is no Meanes to helpe this, but by 
Seasonable Intermissions. But let not a Man 
trust his Victorie over his Nature too farre; For 
Nature will lay buried a great Time, and yet 
revive, upon the Occasion or Temptation. Like 
as it was with yEsopes Dainoscll, turned from a 
Catt to a Woman; who sate very demurely, at 
the Boards End, till a Mouse ranne before her. 
Therefore let a Man, either avoid the Occasion 
altogether; Or put Himselfe often to it, that hee 
may be little moved with it. A Mans Nature is 



1 64 ESS A YES. 

best perceived in Privatenesse, for there is no 
Affectation; In Passion, for that putteth a Man 
out of his Precepts; And in a new Case or Experi- 
ment, for there Custome leaveth him. They are 
happie Men, whose Natu7'es sort with their Voca- 
tions; Otherwise they may say, Multhni Tncola 
fuit Anima mea : when they converse in those 
Things, they doe not Affect. In Studies, what- 
soever a Man commandeth upon himselfe, let 
him set Houres for it: But whatsoever is agree- 
able to his Natm-e, let him take no Care, for any 
set Times: For his Thoughts, will file to it of 
Themselves; So as the Spaces of other Businesse, 
or Studies, will sufiftce. A Mans Nature runnes 
either to Herbes, or Weeds; Therefore let him 
seasonably Water the One, and Destroy the Other. 



XXXIX. 

OF CUSTOME AND EDUCATION. 

Mens Thoughts are much according to their 
Inclination: Their Discourse and Speeches ac- 
cording to their Learning, and Infused Opinions; 
But their Deeds are after as they have beene Accus- 
tomed. And therefore, as Macciavel\v€A noteth 
(though in an evill favoured Instance) There is 
no Trusting to the Force of Nature, nor to the 



OF C US TOME AND EDUCATION. 1 65 

Bravery of Words; Except it be Corroborate by 
Custonic. His Instance is, that for the Atchiev- 
ing of a desperate Conspiracie, a Man should 
not rest upon the Fiercenesse of any mans Nature, 
or his Resolute Undertakings; But take such an 
one, as hath had his Hands formerly in Bloud. 
But Macciavel knew not of a Friar Clement, 
nor a Ravillac, nor a Jauregiiy, nor a Baltazar 
Gei-ard : yet his Rule holdeth still, that Nature, 
nor the Engagement of Words, are not so forci- 
ble, as Custome. Onely Superstition is now so 
well advanced, that Men of the first Bloud, are 
as Firme, as Butchers by Occupation : And votary 
Resolution is made Equipollent to Custome, even 
in matter of Bloud. In other Things, the Pre- 
dominancy of Cusfoiue is every where Visible; 
In so much, as a Man would wonder, to heare 
Men Professe, Protest, Engage, Give Great 
Words, and then Doe just as they have Done 
before : As if they were Dead Images, and En- 
gines moved onely by the wheeles of Custome, 
We see also the Raigne or Tyrannic of Custome, 
what it is. The Indians (I meane the Sect of 
their Wise Men) lay Themselves quietly upon a 
Stacke of Wood, and so Sacrifice themselves by 
Fire. Nay the Wives strive to be burned with 
the Corpses of their Husbands. The Lads of 
Sparta, of Ancient Time, were wont to be 



1 66 ESSAYES. 

Scourged upon the Altar of Diana, without so 
much as Queching. I remember in the begin- 
ning of Queene Elizabeths time of England, an 
Irish i?^^^// Condemned, put up a Petition to the 
Deputie, that he might be hanged in a With, and 
not in an Halter, because it had beene so used, 
with former Rebels. There be Monkes in Russia, 
for Penance, that will sit a whole Night, in a 
Vessell of Water, till they be Ingaged with hard 
Ice. Many Examples may be put, of the Force 
of Cusfome, both upon Minde, and Body. There- 
fore, since Custome is the Principall Magistrate 
of Mans life; Let Men by all Meanes endevour, 
to obtaine good Customes. Certainly, Custovie 
is most perfect, when it beginneth in Young 
Yeares: This we call Education; which is, in 
effect, but an Early Custome. So we see, in 
Languages the Tongue is more Pliant to all Ex- 
pressions and Sounds, the Joints are more Supple 
to all Feats of Activitie, and Motions, in Youth 
then afterwards. For it is true, that late Learners, 
cannot so well take the Plie; Except it be in 
some Mindes, that have not suffered themselves 
to fixe, but have kept themselves open and pre- 
pared, to receive continuall Amendment, which 
is exceeding Rare. But if the Force of Custome 
Simple and Separate, be Great; the Force of 
Custome Copulate, and Conjoyned, & Collegiate, 



OF FORTUNE. 1 67 

is far Greater. For there Example teacheth; 
Company comforteth; Emulation quickeneth; 
Glory raiseth : So as in such Places the Force of 
Custome is in his Exaltation. Certainly, the 
great Multiplication of Vertues upon Humane 
Nature, resteth upon Societies well Ordained, 
and Disciplined. For Commonwealths, and 
Good Governments, doe nourish Vertue Growne, 
but doe not much mend the Seeds. But the 
Misery is, that the most Effectuall Meanes, are 
now applied, to the Ends, least to be desired. 



XL. 

OF FORTUNE. 

It cannot be denied, but Outward Accidents 
conduce much to Fortune: Favour, Opportuni- 
tie. Death of Others, Occasion fitting Vertue. 
But chiefly, the Mould of a Mans Fortune, is in 
his owne hands. Faber quisque Fo7'tunce suce ; 
saith the Poet. And the most Frequent of Ex- 
ternal! Causes is, that the Folly of one Man, is 
the Fortune of Another. For no Man prospers 
so suddenly, as by Others Errours. Sei'pens nisi 
Serpenteni coniederit no7i fit Draco. Overt, and 
Apparent vertues bring forth Praise; But there 
be Secret and Hidden Vertues, that bring Forth 



1 68 ESS A YES. 

Fortime. Certaine Deliveries of a Mans Selfe, 
which have no Name. The Spanish Name, 
Desemboltura, partly expresseth them : When 
there be not Stonds, nor Restivenesse in a Mans 
Nature; But that the wheeles of his Minde keepe 
way, with the wheeles of his Fortune. For so 
Livie (after he had described Cato Major, in 
these words; /;/ il/o viro, tantum Robur Coi-poris 
6^ Animi fuit, tit quocunque loco natus esset, For- 
tunam sibi facturus videretur ;) falleth upon that, 
that he had, Versatile Ingenium. Therfore, if a 
Man looke Sharply, and Attentively, he shall see 
Fo7'tune : For though shee be Blinde, yet shee 
is not Invisible. The Way of Foi'tune, is like 
the Milken Way in the Skie; Which is a Meeting 
or Knot, of a Number of Small Stars; Not Seene 
asunder, but Giving Light together. So are 
there a Number of Little, and scarce discerned 
Vertues, or rather Faculties and Customes, that 
make Men Fo7-iiinate. The Italians note some of 
them, such as a Man would little thinke. When 
they speake of one, that cannot doe amisse, they 
will throw in, into his other Conditions, that he 
hath, Poco di Matto. And certainly, there be 
not two more Fortunate Properties; Then to 
have a Little of the Foole ; And not Too Much of 
the Honest. Therefore, Extreme Lovers of their 
Countrey, or Masters, were never Fortunate, 



OF FORTUNE. 1 69 

neither can they be. P'or when a Man placeth 
his Thoughts without Himselfe, he goeth not his 
ovvne Way. An hastie Fortune maketh an Enter- 
priser, and Remover, (The Fre^ich hath it better; 
Entrept^ejtanf, or Remuant) But the Exercised 
Fortune maketh the Able Man. Foj-lime is to be 
Honoured, and Respected, and it bee but for her 
Daughters, Confidence, and Reputation. For those 
two Felicitie breedeth: The first within a Mans 
Selfe; the Latter, in Others towards Him. All 
Wise Men, to decline the Envy of their owne 
vertues, use to ascribe them to Providence and 
Fof'tune ; For so they may the better assume 
them: And besides, it is Greatnesse in a Man, 
to be the Care, of the Higher Powers. So CcBsar 
said to the Pilot in the Tempest, Ccesarem por~ 
tas, 6^ Fortmiam ejus. So Sylla chose the Name 
of Felix, and not of Magnus. And it hath beene 
noted, that those, that ascribe openly too much to 
their owne Wisdome, and Policie, end Infortu- 
nate. It is written, that Timotheus the Athenian, 
after he had, in the Account he gave to the State, 
of his Government, often interlaced this Speech; 
And in this Fortune had no Part; never pros- 
pered in any Thing he undertooke afterwards. 
Certainly, there be, whose Fo7'tunes are like 
Homers Verses, that have a Slide, and Easinesse, 
more then the Verses of other Poets : As Plutarch 



1 70 ESS A YES. 

saith of Timoleons Fortune, in respect of that of 
Agesilaus, or Epaminondas. And that this should 
be, no doubt it is much, in a Mans Selfe. 



XLI. 

OF USURIE. 

Many have made Wittie Invectives against 
Usu7'ie. They say, that it is Pitie, the Devill 
should have Gods part, which is the Tithe. That 
the Usurer is the greatest Sabbath Breaker, 
because his Plough goeth every Sunday. That 
the Usurer is the Droanc, that Virgil speaketh of : 

IgnavujH Fucos Pecus a prcesepibus arcent. 

That the Usurer breaketh the First Law, that 
was made for Mankinde, after the Fall; which 
was. In sudoi'e Vultus tut comedes Panem tuum ; 
Not, In siidore Vultus alicni. That Usurers should 
have Orange-tawney Bonnets, because they doe 
Judaize. That it is against Nature, for Money 
to beget Money ; And the like. I say this onely, 
that Usury is a Co7tcessu?n propter Duritiem Cor- 
dis : For since there must be Borrowing and 
Lending, and Men are so hard of Heart, as they 
will not lend freely, Uswy must be permitted. 
Some Others have made Suspicious, and Cunning 



OF USURIE. 171 

Propositions, of Bankes, Discovery of Mens 
Estates, and other Inventions. But few have 
spoken of Usury usefully. It is good to set before 
us, the Incoinmodities^ and Commodities of Usuiy ; 
That the Good may be, either Weighed out, or 
Culled out : And warily to provide, that while we 
make forth, to that which is better, we meet not, 
with that which is worse. 

The Discommodities of Usujy are : First, that 
it makes fewer Merchants. For were it not, for 
this Lazie Trade of Ustiry^ Money would not lie 
still, but would, in great Part, be Imployed upon 
Merchandizing; Which is the Vena Porta of 
Wealth in a State. The Second, that it makes 
Poore Merchants. For as a Farmer cannot hus- 
band his Ground so well, if he sit at a great Rent; 
So the Merchant cannot drive his Trade so well, 
if he sit at great Usury. The Third is incident 
to the other two; And that is, the Decay of Cus- 
tomes of Kings or States, which Ebbe or flow 
with Merchandizing. The Fourth, that it bring- 
eth the Treasure of a Realme or State, into a few 
Hands. For the Usurer being at Certainties, 
and other at Uncertainties, at the end of the 
Game; Most of the Money will be in the Boxe; 
And ever a State flourisheth, when Wealth is 
more equally spread. The Fifth, that it beats 
downe the Price of Land : For the Employment 



1/2 ESS A YES. 

of Money, is chiefly, either Merchandizing, or 
Purchasing; And Usury Waylayes both. The 
Sixth, that it doth Dull and Dampe all Indus- 
tries, Improvements, and new Inventions, wherin 
Money would be Stirring, if it were not for this 
Slugge. The Last, that it is the Canker and 
Ruine of many Mens Estates; Which in processe 
of Time breeds a Publike Povertie. 

On the other side, the Coimnodities of Usury 
are. First, that howsoever Usury in some respect 
hindereth Merchandizing, yet in some other it 
advanceth it : For it is certain, that the Greatest 
Part of Trade, is driven by Young Merchants, 
upon Borrowing at Interest: So as if the Usurer, 
either call in, or keepe backe his Money, there 
will ensue presently a great Stand of Trade. The 
Second is. That were it not, for this easie bor- 
rowing upon Interest, Mens necessities would 
draw upon them, a most sudden undoing; In 
that they would be forced to sell their Meanes 
(be it Lands or Goods) farre under Foot; and so, 
whereas Usuiy doth but Gnaw upon them. Bad 
Markets would Swallow them quite up. As for 
Mortgaging, or Pawning, it will little mend the 
matter; For either Men will not take Pawnes with- 
out Use; Or if they doe, they will looke precisely 
for the Forfeiture. I remember a Cruell Moneyed 
Man, in the Country, that would say; The Devill 



OF USURIE. 173 

take this Usury, it keepes us from Forfeitures, of 
Mortgages, and Bonds. The third and Last is; 
That it is a Vanitie to conceive, that there would 
be Ordinary Borrowing without Profit; And it is 
impossible to conceive, the Number of Incon- 
veniences, that will ensue, if Borrowing be 
Cramped. Therefore, to speake of the Abolish- 
ing of Usury is Idle. All States have ever had 
it, in one Kinde or Rate, or other. So as that 
Opinion must be sent to Utopia. 

To speake now, of the Reformation and Reiglc- 
ment of Usuij ; How the Discommodities of it 
may be best avoided, and the Commodities 
retained. It appeares by the Ballance, of 
Commodities, and Discommodities of Usury, Two 
Things are to be Reconciled. The one, that the 
Tooth of Usurie be grinded, that it bite not too 
much: The other, that there bee left open a 
Meanes, to invite Moneyed Men, to lend to the 
Merchants, for the Continuing and Quickning 
of Trade. This cannot be done, except you 
introduce, two severall Sorts of Usury ; A Lesse, 
and a Greater. For if you reduce Usury, to one 
Low Rate, it will ease the common Borrower, but 
the Merchant wil be to seeke for Money. And 
it is to bee noted, that the Trade of Merchandize, 
being the most Lucrative, may beare Usury at a 
good Rate; Other Contracts not so. 



1 74 ESS A YES. 

To serve both Intentions, the way would be 
briefly thus. That there be Two Rates of Usury, 
The one Free, and Generall for All; The other 
under Licence only, to Certaine Persons, and in 
Certaine Places of Merchandizhig. First there- 
fore, let Usury, ifi generall, be reduced to Five in 
the Hundred ; And let that Rate be proclaimed 
to be Free and Current; And let the State shut it 
selfe out, to take any Penalty for the same. This 
will preserve Borrowing from any generall Stop 
or Drinesse. This will ease infinite Borrowers 
in the Countrie. This will, in good Part, raise 
the Price of Land, because Land purchased at 
Sixteene yeares Purchase, wil yeeld Six in the 
Hundred, and somewhat more, whereas this Rate 
of Interest, Yeelds but Five. This, by like 
reason, will Encourage and edge. Industrious 
and Profitable Improvements; Because Many will 
rather venture in that kinde, then take Five in 
the Hundred, especially having beene used to 
greater Profit. Secondly, let there be Certaine 
Persons lice7ised to Lend, to knowne Merchants, 
upon Usujy at a Higher Rate ; and let it be with 
the Cautions following. Let the Rate be, even 
with the Merchant himselfe, somewhat more 
easie, then that he used formerly to pay: For, 
by that Meanes, all Borrowers shall have some 
ease, by this Reformation, be he Merchant, or 



OF USURIE. 175 

whosoever. Let it be no Banke or Common 
Stocke, but every Man be Master of his owne 
Money; Not that I altogether Mislike Banks, but 
they will hardly be brooked, in regard of certain 
suspicions. Let the State be answered, some 
small Matter, for the Licence, and the rest left 
to the Lender: For if the Abatement be but 
small, it will no whit discourage the Lender. 
For he, for Example, that tooke before Ten or 
Nine in the Hundred, wil sooner descend to 
Eight in the Hundred, then give over his Trade 
of Usury ; And goe from Certaine Gaines, to 
Gaines of Hazard. Let these Licenced Lenders 
be in Number Indefinite, but restrained to Cer- 
taine Principall Cities and Townes of Merchan- 
dizing: For then they will be hardly able, to 
Colour other Mens Moneyes, in the Country : So 
as the Licence of Nine, will not sucke away the 
current Rate of Five : For no Man will Lend his 
Moneyes farre off, nor put them into Unknown 
Hands. 

If it be Objected, that this doth, in a sort. 
Authorize Usu?y, which before was, in some 
places, but Permissive: The Answer is; That it 
is better, to Mitigate Usury by Declaration, then 
to suffer it to Rage by Connivence. 



176 ESS A YES. 



XLII. 

OF YOUTH AND AGE. 

A MAN that is Young in yeares, mp,y be Old in 
Hoiires, if he have lost no Time. But that hap- 
peneth rarely. Generally, youth is like the first 
Cogitations, not so Wise as the Second. For 
there is z. youth in thoughts as well as in Ages. 
And yet the Invention of Young Men, is more 
lively, then that of Old: And Imaginations 
streame into their Mindes better, and, as it 
were, more Divinely. Natures that have much 
Heat, and great and violent desires and Pertur- 
bations, are not ripe for Action, till they have 
passed the Meridian of their yeares : As it was 
withy?///// J" C(Esar, & Septimius Severus. Of the 
latter of whom, it is said; Juventuiem egif, 
Errorihus^imb Fu7'oribus, plenam. And yet he 
was the Ablest Emperour, almost, of all the List. 
But Reposed Natures may doe well in Youth. 
And it is seene, in Augustus Ccesar, Cosmus 
Duke of Florence, Gaston de Fois, and others. 
On the other side, Heate and Vivacity in Age, is 
an Excellent Composition for Businesse. Young 
Men, are Fitter to Invent, then to Judge; Fitter 



OF YOUTH AND AGE. l^J 

for Execution, then for Counsel!; And Fitter for 
New Projects, then for Setled Businesse. For 
the Experience of Age, in Things that fall within 
the compasse of it, directeth them; but in New 
Things, abuseth them. The Errours of Young 
Men are the Ruine of Businesse; But the Errours 
of Aged Men amount but to this; That more 
might have beene done, or sooner. Yoimg Men, 
in the Conduct, and Mannage of Actions, Em- 
brace more then they can Hold, Stirre more 
then they can Quiet; Fly to the End, without 
Consideration of the Meanes, and Degrees; 
Pursue some few Principles, which they have 
chanced upon absurdly; Care not to innovate, 
which draws unknowne Inconveniences; Use ex- 
treme Remedies at first; And that which doubleth 
all Errours, will not acknowledge or retract them; 
Like an unready Horse, that will neither Stop, 
nor Turne. Men of Age, Object too much, Con- 
sult too long. Adventure too little. Repent too 
soone, and seldome drive Businesse home to the 
full Period; But content themselves with a Medi- 
ocrity of Successe. Certainly, it is good to com- 
pound Employments of both; For that will be 
Good for the Present, because the Vertues of 
either Age, may correct the defects of both: And 
good for Succession, that Yoimg Men may be 
Learners, while Men in Age are Actours: And 

N 



I yS ESS A YES. 

lastly, Good for Ex feme Accide^its, because Au- 
thority followeth Old Men^ And Favour and 
Popularity Youth, But for the Morall Part, 
perhaps Youth will have the preheminence, as 
Age hath for the Politique. A certaine Rabbine^ 
upon the Text; Your Yomig Men shall see visions , 
and your Old Men shall drea?ne dreanies ; Inf er- 
reth, that Young Men are admitted nearer to God 
then Old; Because Vision is a clearer Revela- 
tion, then a Dreame, And certainly, the more a 
Man drinketh of the World, the more it intoxi- 
cateth; And Age doth profit rather in the Powers 
of Understanding, then in the Vertues of the 
Will and Affections. There be some have an 
Over-early Ripenesse in their yeares, which fad- 
eth betimes : These are first, Such as have Brittle 
Wits, the Edge whereof is soone turned; Such as 
was Herinogenes the Rhetorician, whose Books 
are exceeding Subtill; Who afterwards waxed 
Stupid. A Second Sort is of those, that have 
some naturall Dispositions, which have better 
Grace in Youth, then in Age : Such as is a fluent 
and Luxuriant Speech; which becomes Youth 
well, but not Age : So Tully saith of Hortensius ; 
Idem manebat, neque idem decebat. The third 
is of such, as take too high a Straine at the 
First; And are Magnanimous, more than Tract 
of yeares can uphold. As was Scipio Affricanus, 



OF BEAUTY. 1 79 

of whom Livy saith in effect; Ultima pri77iis 
cedebant. 



XLIII. 

OF BEAUTY. 

Vertue is like a Rich Stone, best plaine set: 
And surely, vertue is best in a Body, that is 
comely, though not of Delicate Features; And 
that hath rather Dignity of Presence, then Beauty 
of Aspect. Neither is it almost scene, that very 
Beautifull Persoiis^ are otherwise of great Vertue; 
As if Nature, were rather Busie not to erre, then 
in labour, to produce Excellency. And therefore, 
they prove Accomplished, but not of great Spirit; 
And Study rather Behaviour, then Vertue. But 
this holds not alwaies; For Augustus CcBsar, Titus 
VespasianuSj Philip le Belle of France, Edward 
the Fourth of England, Alcibiades of Athens, 
Ismael the Sophy of Persia, were all High and 
Great Spirits; And yet the most Beautifull Men 
of their Times. In Beauty, that of Favour, is 
more then that of Colour, And that of Decent 
and Gracious Motion, more then that of Favour. 
That is the best Part of Beauty, which a Picture 
cannot expresse; No nor the first Sight of the 
Life. There is no Excellent Beauty, that hath 



l8o ESS A YES. 

not some Strangenesse in the Proportion. A 
Man cannot tell, whether Apelles, or Albert 
JDurer, were the more Trifler : Whereof the one 
would make a Personage by Geometricall Pro- 
portions : The other, by taking the best Parts out 
of divers Faces, to make one Excellent. Such 
Personages, I thinke, would please no Body, but 
the Painter, that made them. Not but I thinke 
a Painter, may make a better Face, then ever 
was; But he must doe it, by a kinde of Felicity, 
(As a Musician that maketh an excellent Ayre in 
Musicke) And not by Rule. A Man shall see 
Faces, that if you examine them. Part by Part, 
you shall finde never a good; And yet all together 
doe well. If it be true, that the Principall Part 
of Beauty, is in decent Motion, certainly it is no 
marvaile, though Persons in Yeares, seeme many 
times more Amiable; PulcJu-oriini Autiivi7ius 
pule her : For no Youth can be comely, but by 
Pardon, and considering the Youth, as to make 
up the comelinesse. Beauty is as Summer-Fruits, 
which are easie to corrupt, and cannot last : And, 
for the most part, it makes a dissolute Youth, 
and an Age a little out of countenance : But yet 
certainly againe, if it light well, it maketh Vertues 
shine, and Vices blush. 



OF DEFORMITY. l8l 



XLIIII. 

OF DEFORMITY. 



Deformed Pei'so7is are commonly even with 
Nature: For as Nature hath done ill by them; 
So doe they by Nature : Being for the most part, 
(as the Scripture saith) void of Naturall Affection ; 
And so they have their Revenge of Nature. Cer- 
tainly there is a Consent between the Body and 
the Minde; And where Nature erreth in the One, 
she ventureth in the Other. Ubi peccat i?i uno, 
periclitatm' in altero. But because, there is in 
Man, an Election touching the Frame of his 
Minde, and a Necessity in the Frame of his 
Body, the Starres of Naturall Inclination, are 
sometimes obscured, by the Sun of Discipline, 
and Vertue. Therefore, it is good to consider 
of Deformity, not as a Signe, which is more 
Deceivable; But as a Cause, which seldome fail- 
eth of the Effect. Whosoever hath any Thing 
fixed in his Person, that doth enduce Contempt, 
hath also a perpetuall Spurre in himself e, to rescue 
and deliver himselfe from Scorne : Therefore all 
Deformed Persons are extreme Bold. First, as in 
their own Defence, as being exposed to Scorn; 



1 82 ESSAYES. 

But in Processe of Time, by a Generall Habit. 
Also it stirreth in them Industry, and especially 
of this kinde, to watch and observe the Weak- 
nesse of Others, that they may have somewhat to 
repay. Againe, in their Superiours, it quench- 
eth Jealousie towards them, as Persons that they 
think may at pleasure despise : And it layeth 
their Competitours and Emulatours asleepe; As 
never beleeving, they should be in possibility of 
advancement, till they see them in Possession. 
So that, upon the matter, in a great Wit, De- 
formity is an Advantage to Rising. Kings in 
Ancient Times, (And at this present in some 
Countries,) were wont to put Great Trust in 
Eunuchs ; Because they, that are Envious towards 
All, are more Obnoxious and Officious towards 
One. But yet their Trust towards them, hath 
rather beene as to good Spialls, and good Whis- 
perers; then good Magistrates, and Officers. 
And much like is the Reason of Deformed Per- 
sons, Still the Ground is, they will, if they be 
of Spirit, seeke to free themselves from Scorne; 
Which must be, either by Vertue, or Malice: 
And therefore, let it not be Marvelled, if some- 
times they prove Excellent Persons; As was 
Agesilaus, Zanger the Sonne of Solyman, /Esope^ 
Gasca President of Peru ; And Socrates may goe 
likewise amongst them; with Others. 



OF BUILDING. 1 83 



XLV. 
OF BUILDING. 

Houses are built to Live in, and not to Looke 
on: Therefore let Use bee preferred before Uni- 
formitie; Except where both may be had. Leave 
the Goodly Fabrickes of Houses^ for Beautie only, 
to the Enchanted Palaces of the Poets : Who build 
them with small Cost. Hee that builds a faire 
House, upon an ill Seat, committeth Himself e to 
Prison. Neither doe I reckon it an /// Seat, only, 
where the Aire is unwholsome; But likewise 
where the Aire is unequall; As you shall see many 
Fine Seats, set upon a knap of Ground, Envi- 
roned with Higher Hilles round about it : whereby 
the Heat of the Sunne is pent in, and the Wind 
gathereth as in Troughes; So as you shall have, 
and that suddenly, as great Diversitie of Heat 
and Cold, as if you Dwelt in severall Places. 
Neither is it /// Aire onely, that maketh an /// 
Seat, but 111 Wayes, 111 Markets; And, if you will 
consult with Alomiis, 111 Neighbours. I speake 
not of many More: Want of Water; Want of 
Wood, Shade, and Shelter; Want of Fruitful- 
nesse, and mixture of Grounds of severall 



1 84 ESS A YES. 

Natures; Want of Prospect; Want of Levell 
Grounds; Want of Places, at some neare Dis- 
tance, for Sports of Hunting, Hauking, and 
Races; Too neare the Sea, too remote; Having 
the Commoditie of Navigable Rivers, or the dis- 
commoditie of their Overflowing; Too farre off 
from great Cities, which may hinder Businesse; 
Or too neare them, which Lurcheth all Provisions, 
and maketh every Thing deare : Where a Man 
hath a great Living laid together, and where he 
is scanted : All which, as it is impossible, per- 
haps, to finde together, so it is good to know 
them, and thinke of them, that a Man may take 
as many as he can : And if he have severall Dwell- 
ings, that he sort them so, that what hee wanteth 
in the One, hee may finde in the Other. Lucid- 
lus answered Pompey well; Who when hee 
saw his Stately Galleries, and Roomes, so 
Large and Lightsome, in one of his Houses^ 
said; Surely, an excellent Place for Summer, but 
how doe you in Winter? Lucullus answered; 
Why, doe you not think me as wise, as some 
Fowle are, that ever change their Abo ad toivards 
the Winter? 

To passe from the Seat, to the House it selfe; 
We will doe as Cicero doth, in the Oratours Art; 
Who writes Bookes De Oratore, and a Booke he 
entitles Orator: Whereof the Former delivers 



OF BUILDING. 1 85 

the Precepts of the Art; And the Latter the Per- 
fection. We will therefore describe a Princely 
Paltace, making a briefe Modell thereof. For it 
is strange to see, now in Europe, such Huge 
Buildings, as the Vatican, and Pscuriall, and 
some Others be, and yet scarce a very Faire 
Roome in them. 

First therefore, I say, you cannot have a Per- 
fect Pallace, except you have two severall Sides; 
A Side for the Banquet, as is spoken of in the 
Booke of Hester ; And a Side; for the Household : 
The One for Feasts and Triumphs, and the Other 
for Dwelling. I understand both these Sides, to 
be not onely Returnes, but Parts of the Front; 
And to be uniforme without, though severally 
Partitioned within; And to be on both Sides, of 
a Great and Stately Toiuer, in the Middest of the 
Front; That as it were, joyneth them together, 
on either Hand. I would have on the Side of 
the Banquet, in Front, one only Goodly Roome, 
above Staires, of some Fortie Foot high; And 
under it, a Pvoome, for a Dressing or Preparing 
Place, at Times of Triumphs. On the other Side, 
which is the Hoicshold Side, I wish it divided at 
the first, into a Hall, and a Chappell, (with a 
Partition betweene;) Both of good State, and 
Bignesse : And those not to goe all the length, 
but to have, at the further end, a Winter, and a 



1 86 ESS A YES. 

Summer Pai'ler^ both Faire. And under these 
Roomes, A Faire and Large Cellar, suncke under 
Ground: And likewise, some Privie Kitchi?is, 
with Butteries, and Pantries, and the like. As 
for the Tower, I would have it two Stories, of 
Eighteene Foot High a peece, above the two 
Wings; And a Goodly Z^^^j- upon the Top, railed 
with Statua's interposed; And the same Tower io 
bee divided into Roomes, as shall be thought fit. 
The Staires likewise, to the upper Roomes, let 
them bee upon a Faire open Neiuell, and finely 
raild in, with Images of Wood, cast into a Brasse 
Colour : And a very faire Landing Place at the 
Top. But this to be, if you doe not point, any 
of the lower Roomes, for a Dining Place of Ser- 
vants. For otherwise, you shall have the Servants 
Dinner, after your ovvne: For the Steame of it 
will come up as in a Tunnell. And so much 
for the Fro7it. Only, I understand the Height 
of the first Staires, to be Sixteene Foot, which is 
the Height of the Lower Roome. 

Beyond this Front, is there to be a Faire 
Court, but three Sides of it, of a Farre Lower 
building, then the Fj'ont. And in all the foure 
Corners of that Court, Faire Staire Cases, cast 
into Turrets, on the Outside, and not within the 
Row of Buildings themselves. But those Towers, 
are not to be of the Height of the Front ; But 



OF BUILDING. 1 8/ 

rather Proportionable to the Lower Building. 
Let the Court not be paved, for that striketh up a 
great Heat in Summer, and much Cold in Win- 
ter. But onely some Side Alleys with a Crosse, 
and the Quarters to Graze, being kept Shorne, 
but not too neare Shorne. The Row of Returne, 
on the Banquet Side, Let it be all Stately Gal- 
leries ; In which Galleries, Let there be three, or 
five, fine Cupola's, in the Length of it, placed at 
equall distance : And fine Coloured Windows of 
severall workes. On the Household Side, Cham- 
bers of Presence, and Ordinary Entertainments, 
with some Bed-chambers ; And let all three Sides, 
be a double House, without Thorow Lights, on 
the Sides, that you may have Roomes from the 
Sunne, both for Fore-noone, and After-noone. 
Cast it also, that you may have Roomes, both for 
Summer, and Winter: Shadie for Summer, and 
Warme for Winter. You shall have sometimes 
Faire Houses, so full of Glasse, that one cannot 
tell, where to become, to be out of the Sunne, or 
Cold: For Lnbowed Windowes, I hold them of 
good Use; (In Cities indeed. Upright dot better, 
in respect of the Uniformitie towards the Street;) 
For they bee Prettie Retiring Places for Con- 
ference; And besides, they keepe both the Wind, 
and Sunne off: For that which would strike 
almost thorow the Roome, doth Scarce passe the 



1 88 ESS A YES. 

Window. But let them be but few, Foure in the 
Court, On the Sides onely. 

Beyond this Court, let there be an Inwai'd 
Court of the same Square, and Height; Which 
is to be environed, with the Garden, on all Sides : 
And in the Inside, Cloistered on all Sides, upon 
Decent and Beautiful! Arches, as High as the 
first Story. On the Under Story, towards the 
Garden, Let it be turned to a Grotta, or Place 
of Shade, or Estivation. And onely have open- 
ing and Windowes towards the Ga?-den ; And be 
Levell upon the Floare, no whit sunke under 
Ground, to avoid all Dampishnesse. And let 
there be a Fountaine, or some faire Worke of 
Statud's, in the Middest of this Court; And to be 
Paved as the other Court was. These Buildings 
to be for Frivie Lodgings, on both Sides; And 
the End, for Frivie Gallej-ies. Whereof, you 
must fore-see, that one of them, be for an In- 
firmary, if the Prince, or any Speciall Person 
should be Sicke, with Chanibei-s, Bed-chamber^ 
Anticamera, and Recaniera, joyning to it. This 
upon the Second Story. Upon the Ground 
Story, a Faire Gallery, Open, upon Fillars : And 
upon the Third Sto7y likewise, an Open Gallery 
upon Fillars, to take the Prospect, and Freshnesse 
of the Garden. At both Corners of the further 
Side, by way of Returne, Let there be two Deli- 



OF GARDENS. 1 89 

cate or Rich Cabinets, Daintily Paved, Richly 
Hanged, Glased with Crystalline Glasse, and a 
Rich Cupola in the Middest; And all other Ele- 
gancie that may be thought upon. In the Upper 
Galle7'y too, I wish that there may be, if the Place 
will yeeld it, some Fountaines Running, in divers 
Places, from the Wall, with some fine Avoid- 
ances. And thus much, for the Modell of the 
Pallace : Save that, you must have, before you 
come to the Fro7it, three Courts. A Greene 
Court Plain, with a Wall about it: A Second 
Court of the same, but more Garnished, with 
little Turrets, or rather Embellishments, upon 
the Wall : And a Third Court, to make a Square 
with the Front, but not to be built, nor yet 
enclosed with a Naked Wall, but enclosed with 
Tan-asses, Leaded aloft, and fairely garnished, 
on the three Sides; And Cloistered on the Inside, 
with Pillars, and not with Arches Below. As for 
Offices, let them stand at Distance, with some 
Low Galleries, to passe from them, to the Pallace 
it Selfe. 

XLVI. 

OF GARDENS. 

God Alniightie first Planted a Garden. And 
indeed, it is the Purest of Humane pleasures. It 



190 £SSAYES. 

is the Greatest Refreshment to the Spirits of 
Man; Without which, Buildings and Pallaces are 
but Grosse Handy-works : And a Man shall ever 
see, that when Ages grow to Civility and Ele- 
gancie. Men come to Build Stately, sooner then 
to Garden Finely: As if Gardening were the 
Greater Perfection. I doe hold it, in the Royall 
Ordering of Gardeiis, there ought to be Gardens, 
for all the Moneths in the Yeare : In which, sev- 
erally. Things of Beautie, may be then in Season. 
Yox December, snad. January, and the Latter Part 
of November, you must take such Things, as are 
Greene all Winter; Holly; Ivy; Bayes; Juniper; 
Cipresse Trees; Eugh; Pine- Apple-Trees; Firre- 
Trees; Rose-Mary; Lavander; Periwinckle, the 
White, the Purple, and the Blewe; Germander; 
Flagges; Orenge-Trees; Limon-Trees; And Mir- 
tles, if they be stooved; & Sweet Marjoram 
warme set. There followeth, for the latter Part 
of January, and February, the Mezerion Tree, 
which then blossomes; Crocus Vernus, both the 
Yellow, and the Gray; Prime-Roses; Anemones; 
The Early Tulippa; Hiacynthus Orientalis; 
Chamairis; Frettellaria. For Alarch, There 
come Violets, specially the Single Blew, which 
are the Earliest; The Yellow Daffadill; The 
Dazie; The Almond-Tree in Blossome; The 
Peach-Tree in Blossome; The Cornelian-Tree 



OF GARDENS. I9I 

in Blossome; Sweet-Briar. In Aprill follow, 
The Double white Violet; The Wall-flower; The 
Stock-Gilly-Flower; The Couslip; Flower-De- 
lices, & Lillies of all Natures; Rose-mary 
Flowers; The Tulippa; The Double Piony; 
The Pale Daffadill; The French Honny-Suckle; 
The Cherry-Tree in Blossome; The Dammasin, 
and Plum-Trees in Blossome; The White-Thcrne 
in Leaf e ; The Lelacke Tree. In May^ ^XiAJune, 
come Pincks of all sorts, Specially the Blush 
Pincke; Roses of all kinds, except the Muske, 
which comes later; Hony-Suckles; Strawberries; 
Buglosse; Columbine; The French Mary-gold; 
Flos Africanus; Cherry-Tree in Fruit; Ribes; 
Figges in Fruit; Raspes; Vine Flowers; Lav- 
ender in Flowers; The Sweet Satyrian, with the 
White Flower; Herba Muscaria; Lilium Conval- 
lium; The Apple-tree in Blossome. In July, 
come Gilly-Flowers of all Varieties; Muske 
Roses; The Lime-Tree in blossome; Early 
Peares, and Plummes in Fruit; Ginnitings; 
Quadlins. In August, come Plummes of all 
sorts in Fruit; Peares; Apricockes; Berberies; 
Filberds; Muske-Melons; Monks Hoods, of all 
colours. In September, come Grapes; Apples; 
Poppies of all colours; Peaches; Melo-Cotones; 
Nectarines; Cornelians; Wardens; Quinces. 
In Octobei; and the beginning of November, 



192 ESS A YES, 

come Services; Medlars; Bullises; Roses Cut or 
Removed to come late; Hollyokes; and such 
like. These Particulars are for the Climate of 
London; But my meaning is Perceived, that you 
may have Ver Perpetuum, as the Place affords. 

And because, the Bj'eath of Flowers, is farre 
Sweeter in the Aire, (where it comes and Goes, 
like the Warbling of Musick) then in the hand, 
therfore nothing is more fit for that delight, then 
to know, what be the Flowers, and Plants, that 
doe best perfume the Aire. Roses Damask & 
Red, are fast Flowers of their Smels; So that; 
you may walke by a whole Row of them, and 
finde Nothing of their Sweetnesse; Yea though 
it be, in a Mornings Dew. Bayes likewise yeeld 
no Smell, as they grow. Rosemary little; Nor 
Sweet-Marjoram. That, which above all Others, 
yeelds the Sweetest Smell in the Aire, is the Vio- 
let; Specially the White-double-Violet, which 
comes twice a Yeare; About the middle of Aprill, 
and about Bartholomew-tide. Next to that is, 
the Muske-Rose. Then the Strawberry-Leaves 
dying, which [? yeeld] a most Excellent Cordiall 
Smell. Then the Flower of the Vines; It is a 
little dust, like the dust of a Bent, which growes 
upon the Cluster, in the First comming forth. 
Then Sweet Briar. Then Wall-Flowers, which 
are very Delightfull, to be set under a Parler, or 



OF GARDENS. 1 93 

Lower Chamber Window. Then Pincks, and 
Gilly-Flowers, specially the Matted Pinck, & 
Clove Gilly-flower. Then the Flowers of the 
Lime tree. Then the Hony-Suckles, so they be 
somewhat a farre off. Of Beane Flowers I speake 
not, because they are Field Flowers. But those 
which Pej'fume the Aire most delightfully, not 
passed by as the rest, but being Troden upon and 
Crushed, are Three: That is Burnet, Wilde- 
Time, and Water-Mints. Therefore, you are to 
set whole Allies of them, to have the Pleasure, 
when you walke or tread. 

For Gardens, (Speaking of those, which are 
indeed Prince-liJze, as we have done of Buildings^ 
the Contents, ought not well to be, under Thirty 
Acres of Ground ; And to be divided into three 
Parts: A Greene in the Entrance; k Heath or 
Desart in the Going forth; And the Maine Gar- 
den in the midst; Besides Alleys, on both Sides. 
And I like well, that Foure Acres of Ground, be 
assigned to the Greene; Six to the i7<?^//^/ Foure 
and Foure to either Side ; And Twelve to the 
Maine Garden. The Greene hath two pleasures; 
The one, because nothing is more Pleasant to 
the Eye, then Greene Grasse kept finely shorne; 
The other, because it will give you a faire Alley 
in the midst, by which you may go in front upon 
a Stately Hedge, which is to inclose the Garden. 



194 ESS A YES. 

But, because the Alley will be long, and in great 
Heat of the Yeare, or Day, you ought not to buy 
the shade in the Garden, by Going in the Sunne 
thorow the Greene, therefore you are, of either 
Side the Greene, to Plant a Covert Alley, upon 
Carpenters Worke, about Twelve Foot in Height, 
by which you may goe in Shade, into the Gar- 
den. As for the Making of Knots, or Figures, 
with Dive?'s Coloured Earths, that they may lie 
under the Windowes of the House, on that Side, 
which the Garden stands, they be but Toyes: 
You may see as good Sights, many times, in 
Tarts. The Garden is best to be Square; In- 
compassed, on all the Foure Sides, with a Stately 
Arched Hedge. The Arches to be upon Pillars, 
of Carpenters Worke, of some Ten Foot high, 
and Six Foot broad : And the Spaces between, of 
the same Dimension, with the B7'eadth of the 
Arch. Over the Arches, let there bee an Entii-e 
Hedge, of some Foure Foot High, framed also 
upon Carpenters Worke : And upon the Upper 
Hedge, over every Arch, a little Tuiret, with a 
Belly, enough to receive a Cage of Birds : And 
over every Space, betweene the Arches, some other 
little Figure, with Broad Plates of Round Col- 
oured Glasse, gilt, for the Stmne, to Play upon. 
But this Hedge I entend to be, raised upon a 
Bancke, not Steepe, but gently Slope, of some 



OF GARDENS, 1 95 

Six Foot, set all with Flowers. Also I under- 
stand, that this Square of the Garden, should 
not be the whole Breadth of the Ground, but to 
leave, on either Side, Ground enough, for diver- 
sity of Side Alleys : Unto which, the Two Covert 
Alleys of the Greene, may deliver you. But there 
must be, no Alleys with Hedges, at either End, 
of this great Inclosure : Not at the Hither E^id, 
for letting your Prospect upon this Faire Hedge 
from the Greene ; Nor at the Further End, for 
letting your Prospect from the Hedge, through 
the Arches, upon the Heath. 

For the Ordering of the Ground, within the 
Great Hedge, I leave it to Variety of Device; 
Advising neverthelesse, that whatsoever forme 
you cast it into, first it be not too Busie, or full 
of Worke. Wherein I, for my part, doe not like 
Images Cut out in Juniper, or other Garden 
stuffe : They be for Children. Little low Hedges, 
Round, like Welts, with some Pretty Pyi-amides, 
I like well : And in some Places, Faire Colunines 
upon Frames of Carpenters Worke. I would 
also, have the Alleys, Spacious and Faire. You 
may have Closer Alleys upon the Side Grounds, 
but none in the Maine Garden. I wish also, in 
the very Middle, a Faire Mount, with three 
Ascents, and Alleys, enough for foure to walke 
a breast; Which I would have to be Perfect Cir- 



196 ESS A YES. 

cles, without any Biilwarkes, or Imbosments; 
And the Whole Motmt, to be Thirty Foot high; 
And some fine Banquetting House, with some 
Chimneys neatly cast, and without too much 
Glasse. 

For Fountaines, they are a great Beauty, and 
Refreshment; But Pooles marre all, and make the 
Garden unwholsome, and full of Flies, and Frogs. 
Fountaines I intend to be of two Natures; The 
One, that Sprinckleth or Spouteth Water; The 
Other a Faire Receipt of Water, of some Thirty 
or Forty Foot Square, but without Fish, or Slime, 
or Mud. For the first, the Ornainents of Images 
Gilt, or of Mai'ble, which are in use, doe well : 
But the maine Matter is, so to Convey the Water, 
as it never Stay, either in the Bowles, or in the 
Cesterne; That the Water be never by Rest Dis- 
coloiwed, Greene, or Red, or the like ; Or gather 
any Mossinesse or Putrefactioii. Besides that, it 
is to be cleansed every day by the Hand. Also 
some Steps up to it, and some Fine Fave?nefit 
about it, doth well. As for the other Kinde of 
Fountaine, which we may call a Bathing Poole, 
it may admit much Curiosity, and Beauty; where- 
with we will not trouble our selves: As, that the 
Bottome be finely Paved, And with Images : The 
sides likewise; And withall Embellished with 
Coloured Glasse, and such Things of Lustre; En- 



OF GARDENS. 1 97 

compassed also, with fine Railes of Low Statua's. 
But the Maine Point is the same, which we men- 
tioned, in the former Kindeof Fountaine ; which 
is, that the Water be in Perpetuall Motion, Fed 
by a Water higher then the Poole, and Delivered 
into it by faire Spouts, and then discharged away 
under Ground, by some Equalitie of Bores, that 
it stay little. And for fine Devices, of Arching 
Water without Spilling, and Making it rise in 
severall Formes, (of Feathers, Drinking Glasses, 
Canopies, and the like,) they be pretty things to 
looke on, but Nothing to Health and Sweetnesse. 
For the Heath, which was the Third Part of our 
Plot, I wish it to be framed, as much as may be, 
to a Natu7-allwildnesse. Trees I would have none 
in it; But some Thickets, made onely of Sweet- 
Briar, and Honny-s2ickIe, and some Wilde Vine 
amongst; And the Ground set with Violets, Straw- 
ber?'ies, and Prime-Roses. For these are Sweet, 
and prosper in the Shade. And these to be in 
the Heath, here and there, not in any Order. I 
like also little Heaps, in the Nature of Mole-hils, 
(such as are in Wilde Heaths) to be set, some 
with Wilde Thyme; Some with Pincks; Some 
with Germander, that gives a good Flower to the 
Eye; Some with Periwinckle; Some with Vio- 
lets; Some with Strawberries; Some with Cou- 
slips; Some with Daisies; Some with Red-Roses; 



198 ESS A YES. 

Some with Lilium Convallium; Some with Sweet- 
Williams Red; Some with Beares-Foot; And the 
like Low Flowers, being withal Sweet, and Sightly. 
Part of which Heapes, to be with Standards^ of 
little Bushes, prickt upon their Top, and Part 
without. The Standards to be Roses; Juniper; 
Holly; Beare-berries (but here and there, because 
of the Smell of their Blossome;) Red Currans; 
Goose-berries; Rose-Mary; Bayes; Sweet-Briar; 
and such like. But these Standards, to be kept 
with Cutting, that they grow not out of Course. 
For the Side Grounds, you are to fill them 
with Varietie of Alleys, Private, to give a full 
Shade; Some of them, wheresoever the Sun be. 
You are to frame some of them likewise for Shel- 
ter, that when the Wind blows Sharpe, you may 
walke, as in a Gallery. And those Alleys must 
be likewise hedged, at both Ends, to keepe out 
the Wind; And these Closer Alleys, must bee 
ever finely Gravelled, and no Grasse, because of 
Going wet. In many of these Alleys likewise, 
you are to set Fruit-Ti-ees of all Sorts; As well 
upon the Walles, as in Ranges. And this would 
be generally observed, that the Borders, wherin 
you plant your Fruit-Trees, be Faire and Large, 
and Low, and not Steepe; And Set with Fine 
Flowers, but thin and sparingly, lest they Deceive 
the Trees. At the End of both the Side Grounds, 



OF GARDENS. 1 99 

I would have a Mount of some Pretty Height, 
leaving the Wall of the Enclosure Brest high, to 
looke abroad into the Fields. 

For the Maine Garden^ I doe not Deny, but 
there should be some Faire Alleys, ranged on 
both Sides, with Fruit Trees ; And some Pretty 
Tufts of Fruit Trees, And A7'bours with Seats, set 
in some Decent Order; But these to be, by no 
Meanes, set too thicke; But to leave the Maine 
Garden, so as it be not close, but the Aire Open 
and Free. For as for Shade, I would have you 
rest, upon the Alleys of the Side Grounds, there 
to walke, if you be Disposed, in the Heat of the 
Yeare, or day; But to make Account, that the 
Maine Garden, is for the more Temperate Parts 
of the yeare; And in the Heat of Summer, for 
the Morning, and the Evening, or Over-cast 
Dayes. 

For Avia?'ies, I like them not, except they be 
of that Largenesse, as they may be Turffed, and 
have Living Plants, and Bushes, set in them; 
That the Birds may have more Scope, and Naturall 
Neastling, and that no Foulenesse appeare, in the 
Floare of the Aviary. So I have made a Plat- 
forme of a Princely Garden, Partly by Precept, 
Partly by Drawing, not a Modell, but some gen- 
erall Lines of it; And in this I have spared for 
no Cost. But it is Nothing, for Great Princes, 



200 ESS A YES. 

that for the most Part, taking Advice with 
Workmen, with no Lesse Cost, set their Things 
together; And sometimes adde Statua's, and 
such Things, for State, and Magnificence, but 
nothing to the true Pleasure of a Gai-den, 

XLVII. 

OF NEGOCIATING. 

It is generally better to deale by Speech, then 
by Letter; And by the Mediation of a Third, then 
by a Mans Selfe. Letters are good, when a Man 
would draw an Answer by Letter backe againe; 
Or where it may serve, for a Mans Justification, 
afterwards to produce his owne Letter; Or where 
it may be Danger to be interrupted, or heard by 
Peeces. To deale in Fersofi is good, when a 
Mans Face breedeth Regard, as Commonly with 
Inferiours; Or in Tender Cases, where a Mans 
Eye, upon the Countenance of him with whom 
he speaketh, may give him a Direction, how farre 
to goe : And generally, where a Man will reserve 
to himselfe Libertie, either to Disavow, or to 
Expound. In Choice of Jnstruiuenfs, it is better, 
to choose Men of a Plainer Sort, that are like to 
doe that, that is committed to them, and to 
report back again faithfully the Successe; Then 



OF NE GO CIA TING. 201 

those, that are Cunning to Contrive out of other 
Mens Businesse, somewhat to grace themselves; 
And will helpe the Matter, in Report, for Satis- 
faction sake. Use also, such Persons, as affect 
the Businesse, wherin they are Employed; For 
that quickneth much; And such, as are Fit for 
the Matter; As Bold Men for Expostulation, 
Faire spoken Men for Perswasion, Craftie Men 
for Enquiry and Observation, Froward and 
Absurd Men for Businesse that doth not well 
beare out it Selfe. Use also such, as have beene 
Luckie, and Prevailed before in Things wherein 
you have Emploied them; For that breeds Con- 
fidence, and they will strive to maintaine their 
Prescription. It is better, to sound a Person, 
with whom one Deales^ a farre off, then to fall 
upon the Point at first; Except you meane to 
surprize him by some Short Question. It is 
better Dealing with Men in Appetite, then with 
those that are where they would be. If a Man 
Deale with another upon Conditions, the Start or 
First Performance is all; Which a Man cannot 
reasonably Demaund, except either the Nature of 
the Thing be such, which must goe before; Or 
Else a Man can perswade the other Partie, that 
hee shall still need him, in some other Thing; 
Or else that he be counted the Honester Man. 
All Practise, is to Discover, or to Worke. Men 



202 ESSA YES. 

Discover themselves, in Trust; In Passion; At 
unawares; And of Necessitie, when they would 
have somewhat done, and cannot finde an apt 
Pretext. If you would Worke any Man, you 
must either know his Nature, and Fashions, and 
so Lead him; Or his Ends, and so Perswade 
him; Or his Weaknesse, and Disadvantages, and 
so Awe him; or those that have Interest in him, 
and so Governe him. In Dealing with Cunning 
Persons, we must ever Consider their Ends, to 
interpret their Speeches; And it is good, to say 
little to them, and that which they least looke for. 
In all Negociations of Difificultie, a Man may not 
looke, to Sowe and Reape at once; But must 
Prepare Businesse, and so Ripen it by Degrees. 

XLVIII. 

OF FOLLOWERS AND FRENDS. 

Costly Followers are not to be liked; Lest 
while a Man maketh his Traine Longer, hee 
make his Wings Shorter. I reckon to bee Costly, 
not them alone, which charge the Purse, but 
which are Wearisome and Importune in Sutes. 
Ordinary Followers ought to challenge no Higher 
Conditions, then Countenance, Recommenda- 
tion, and Protection from Wrongs. Factious 



OF FOLLOWERS AND FRENDS. 203 

Followers are worse to be liked, which Follow 
not upon Affection to him, with whom they range 
Themselves, but upon Discontentment Conceived 
against some Other : Whereupon commonly en- 
sueth, that 111 Intelligence, that we many times 
see betweene Great Personages. Likewise Glo- 
rious Followers, who make themselves as Trum- 
pets, of the Commendation of those they Follow, 
are full of Inconvenience; For they taint Busi- 
nesse through Want of Secrecie; And they Ex- 
port Honour from a Man, and make him a 
Returne in Envie. There is a Kinde of Fol- 
lowers likewise, which are Dangerous, being 
indeed Espials; which enquire the Secrets of the 
House, and beare Tales of them to Others. Yet 
such Men, many times, are in great Favour; For 
they are Ofificious, And commonly Exchange 
Tales. The Following by certaine Estates of 
Men, answerable to that, which a Great Person 
himselfe professeth, (as of Soldiers to him that 
hath been Employed in the Warres, and the like,) 
hath ever beene a Thing Civill, and well taken 
even in Monarchies; So it be without too much 
Pompe or Popularitie. But the most Honourable 
Kinde of Following, is to be Followed, as one 
that apprehendeth, to advance Vertue and Desert, 
in all Sorts of Persons. And yet, where there is 
no Eminent Odds in Sufificiencie, it is better to 



204 ^SSA YES. 

take with the more Passable, then with the more 
Able. And besides, to speake Truth, in Base 
Times, Active Men are of more use, then Ver- 
tuous. It is true, that in Government, it is Good 
to use Men of one Rancke equally : for to coun- 
tenance some extraordinarily, is to make them 
Insolent, and the rest Discontent; Because they 
may claime a Due. But contrariwise in Favour, 
to use Men with much Difference and Election, 
is Good; For it maketh the Persons Preferred 
more Thankfull, and the Rest more officious; 
Because all is of Favour. It is good Discretion, 
not to make too much of any Man, at the first; 
Because One cannot hold out that Proportion. 
To be governed (as we call it) by One, is not 
safe : For it shewes Softnesse, and gives a Free- 
dome to Scandall and Disreputation: For those 
that would not Censure, or Speake ill of a Man 
immediatly, will talke more boldly of Those, 
that are so great with them, and thereby Wound 
their Honour. Yet to be Distracted with many 
is Worse; For it makes Men, to be of the Last 
Impression, and full of Change. To take Advice 
of some few Frends is ever Honourable; For 
Lookers on, many times, see more then Gamesters ; 
And the Vale best discovereth the Hill. There is 
Little Frendship in the World, and Least of all 
betweene Equals, which was wont to be Magni- 



OF SU TOURS. 205 

fied. That that is, is between Superiour and 
Inferiour, whose Fortunes may Comprehend, the 
One the Other. 

XLIX. 

OF SUTOURS. 

Many ill Matters and Projects are undertaken; 
And Private Sufes do Putrifie the Publique Good. 
Many Good Matters are undertaken with Bad 
Mindes; I meane notonely Corrupt Mindes, but 
Craftie Mindes, that intend not Performance. 
Some embrace Sutes, which never meane to deale 
effectually in them; But if they see, there may 
be life in the Matter, by some other meane, 
they will be content to winne a Thanke, or take 
a Second Reward, or at least to make Use, in the 
meane time, of the Stitours Hopes. Some take 
hold of Sutes, onely for an Occasion, to Crosse 
some other; Or to make an Information, whereof 
they could not otherwise have apt Pretext; with- 
out Care what become of the Sute, when that 
Turne is served: Or generally, to make other 
Mens Businesse, a Kinde of Entertainment, to 
bring in their owne. Nay, some undertake Siites, 
with a full Purpose, to let them fall; To the end, 
to gratifie the Adverse Partie, or Competitour. 
Surely, there is, in some sort, a Right in every 



206 ESS A YES. 

Sute : Either a Right of Equity, if it be a Sute 
of Controversie; Or a Right of Desert, if it be a 
Sute of Petition. If Affection lead a Man, to 
favour the Wrong Side in Justice, let him rather 
use his Countenance, to Compound the Matter, 
then to Carry it. If Affection lead a Man, to 
favour the lesse Worthy in Desert, let him doe it 
without Depraving or Disabling the Better De- 
server. In Sutes, which a man doth not well 
understand, it is good to referre them, to some 
Frend of Trust and Judgement, that may report 
whether hee may deale in them with Honour: 
But let him chuse well his Referendaries, for else 
he may be led by the Nose. Sutours are so dis- 
tasted with Delayes, and Abuses, that Plaine 
Dealing, in denying to deale in Sutes at first, 
and Reporting the Successe barely, and in Chal- 
lenging no more Thanks then one hath deserved, 
is grown not onely Honourable, but also Gracious. 
In Sutes of Favour, the first Comming ought to 
take little Place: So farre forth Consideration 
may bee had of his Trust, that if Intelligence of 
the Matter, could not otherwise have beene had, 
but by him. Advantage bee not taken of the 
Note, but the Partie left to his other Meanes; 
and, in some sort, Recompenced for his Dis- 
coverie. To be Ignorant of the value of a Sute^ 
is Simplicitie; As well as to be Ignorant of the 



OF SUTOURS. 207 

Right thereof, is Want of Conscience. Secrecie 
in Siites, is a great Meane of Obtaining; For 
voycing them, to bee in Forwardnesse, may dis- 
courage some Kinde of Siitours ; But doth 
Quicken and Awake Others. But Timing of 
the Sute, is the Principall. Timing, I say, not 
onely in respect of the Person, that should grant 
it, but in respect of those, which are like to 
Crosse it. Let a Man, in the choice of his 
Meane, rather choose the Fittest Meane, then 
the Greatest Meane : And rather them, that deale 
in certaine Things, then those that are Generall. 
The Reparation of a Deniall, is sometimes 
Equal! to the first Grant; If a Man shew him- 
selfe, neither dejected, nor discontented. In- 
iquiim petas, lit ^quuni /eras ; is a good Rule 
where a Man hath Strength of Favour : But other- 
wise, a man were better rise in his Siite ; For he 
that would have ventured at first to have lost the 
Sutour, will not in the Conclusion, lose both the 
Sutour, and his owne former Favour. Nothing 
is thought so Easie a Request, to a great Person, 
as his Letter; And yet, if it be not in a Good 
Cause, it is so much out of his Reputation. 
There are no worse Instruments, then these Gen- 
erall Contrivers of Sides ; For they are but a 
Kinde of Poyson and Infection to Publique 
Proceedings. 



208 £SSA V£S. 



OF STUDIES. 

Studies serve for Delight, for Ornament, and 
for Ability. Their Chiefe Use for Delight, is in 
Privatenesse and Retiring; For Ornament, is in 
Discourse; And for Ability, is in the Judgement 
and Disposition of Businesse. For Expert Men 
can Execute, and perhaps Judge of particulars, 
one by one; But the generall Counsels, and the 
Plots, and Marshalling of Affaires, come best 
from those that are Learned. To spend too much 
Time in Studies, is Sloth; To use them too much 
for Ornament, is Affectation; To make Judge- 
ment wholly by their Rules is the Humour of a 
SchoUer. They perfect Nature, and are perfected 
by Experience : For Naturall Abilities, are like 
Naturall Plants, that need Proyning by Study: 
And Studies themselves, doe give forth Directions 
too much at Large, except they be bounded in by 
experience. Crafty Men Contemne Studies; 
Simple Men Admire them; And Wise Men Use 
them; For they teach not their owne Use; But 
that is a Wisdome without them, and above them, 
won by Observation. Reade not to Contradict, 



OF STUDIES. 209 

and Confute; Nor to Beleeve and Take for 
granted; Nor to Finde Talke and Discourse; But 
to weigh and Consider. Some Bookes are to be 
Tasted, Others to be Swallowed, and Some Few 
to be Chewed and Digested : That is, some Bookes 
are to be read onely in Parts; Others to be read 
but not Curiously; And some Few to be read 
wholly, and with Diligence and Attention. Some 
Bookes also may be read by Deputy, and Extracts 
made of them by Others: But that would be, 
onely in the lesse important Arguments, and the 
Meaner Sort of Bookes: else distilled Bookes^ 
are like Common distilled Waters, Flashy Things. 
Reading maketh a Full Man; Conference a Ready 
Man; And Writing an Exact Man. And there- 
fore, If a Man Write little, he had need have a 
Great memory; If he Conferre little, he had need 
have a Present Wit; And if he Reade litle, he 
had need have much Cunning, to seeme to know 
that, he doth not. Histories make Men Wise; 
/^^^/^ Witty; T\iQ Matheniaticks ^v^WW; Nati^rall 
Philosophy d_eep.e; Moral! Grave; Logick and 
Rhetorick Able to Contend. Abewit stttdia in 
Mores. Nay there is no Stond or Impediment 
in the Wit, but may be wrought out by Fit 
Studies : Like as Diseases of the Body, may have 
Appropriate Exercises. Bowling is good for the 
Stone and Reines; Shooting for the Lungs and 



2IO ESS A YES. 

Breast; Gentle Walking for the Stomacke; Rid- 
ing for the Head; And the like. So if a Mans 
Wit be Wandring, let him Study the Mathe- 
maticks ; For in Demonstrations, if his Wit be 
called away never so little, he must begin again: 
If his Wit be not Apt to distinguish or find differ- 
ences, let him Study the Schoole-men ; For they 
are Cymini sectores. If he be not Apt to beat 
over Matters, and to call up one Thing, to Prove 
and Illustrate another, let him Study the Lawyers 
Cases : So every Defect of the Minde, may have 
a Speciall Receit. 

LI. 

OF FACTION. 

Many have an Opinion not wise; That for a 
Prince to Governe his Estate; Or for a Great 
Person to governe his Proceedings, according to 
the Respect of Factions, is a Principall Part of 
Policy: whereas contrariwise, the Chiefest Wis- 
dome is, either in Ordering those Things, which 
are Generall, and wherein Men of Severall Fac- 
tions doe nevertheless agree; Or in dealing with 
Correspondence to Particular Persons, one by 
one. But I say not, that the consideration of 
Factions, is to be Neglected. Meane Men, in 
their Rising, must adhere; But Great Men, that 



OF FACTION. 211 

have Strength in themselves, were better to main- 
taine themselves Indifferent, and Neutrall. Yet 
even in beginners, to adhere so moderately, as 
hee bee a Man of the one Faction^ which is most 
Passable with the other, commonly giveth best 
Way. The Lower and Weaker Faction^ is the 
firmer in Conjunction: And it is often scene, that 
a few, that are Stiffe, doe tire out, a greater 
Number, that are more Moderate. When One 
of the Factions is Extinguished, the Remaining 
Subdivideth : As the Faction, betweene Liiciillus, 
and the Rest of the Nobles of the Senate (which 
they called Opti^nates) held out a while, against 
the Faction of Ponipey and Ccesa?- : But when the 
Senates Authority was pulled Downe, Ccesar and 
Pompey soone after brake. The Faction or Partie 
of Antonins, and Octavia?ms Ccesar, against Bi^u- 
tiis and Cassius, held out likewise for a time : But 
when Brutus and Cassius were overthrowne, then 
soone after Antonius and Octavianus brake and 
Subdivided. These Examples are of Warres, 
but the same holdeth in Private Factions, And 
therefore, those that are Seconds in Factions, doe 
many times, when the Faction Subdivideth, prove 
Principals: But many times also, they prove 
Ciphars and Casheer'd: For many a Mans 
Strength is in opposition; And when that faileth, 
he groweth out of use. It is commonly scene. 



212 ESS AYES. 

that Men once Placed, take in with the Contrary 
Faction to that, by which they enter; Thinking 
belike that they have the First Sure; And now 
are Readie for a New Purchase. The Traitour 
in Faction lightly goeth away with it; For when 
Matters have stucke long in Ballancing, the Win- 
ning of some one Man casteth them, and he get- 
teth all the Thankes. The Even Carriage betweene 
two Factio?is, proceedeth not alwaies of Modera- 
tion, but of a Truenesse to a Mans selfe, with 
End to make use of both. Certainly in Italy, 
they hold it a little suspect in Popes, when they 
have often in their Mouth, Padre com^nmie : And 
take it, to be a Signe of one, that meaneth to 
referre all, to the Greatnesse of his owne House. 
Kings had need beware, how they Side them- 
selves, and make themselves as of a Faction or 
Partie; For Leagues, within the State, are ever 
Pernicious to Monarchies; For they raise an 
Obligation, Paramount to Obligation of Sove- 
raigntie, and make the King, Tanqiiam unus ex 
nobis : As was to be scene, in the League of 
France. When Factions are carried too high, 
and too violently, it is a Signe of Weaknesse in 
Princes; And much to the Prejudice, both of 
their Authoritie, and Businesse. The Motions 
of Factions, under Kings, ought to be like the 
Motions (as the Astronomers speake) of the In- 



OF CEREMONIES AND RESPECTS. 213 

feriour Orbs; which may have their Proper 
Motions, but yet still, are quietly carried, by the 
Higher Motion, of Primuin Mobile, 

LII. 

OF CEREMONIES AND RESPECTS. 

He that is only Reall, had need have Exceed- 
ing great Parts of Vertue : As the Stone had need 
to be Rich, that is set without Foile. But if a 
Man marke it well, it is in praise and Commenda- 
tion of Men, as it is in Gettings and Gaines: 
For the Proverbe is true. That light Gai?ies make 
Heavy Puises ; For light Gaines come thick, 
whereas Great come but now and then. So it is 
true, that Small Matters win great Commenda- 
tion, because they are continually in Use, and in 
note : whereas the Occasion of any great Vertue, 
commeth but on Festivals. Therefore it doth 
much adde, to a Mans Reputation, and is, (as 
Queene Isabella said) Like perpetuall Letters 
Commendatory, to have good Formes. To At- 
taine them, it almost sufficeth, not to despise 
them: For so shall a Man observe them in 
Others: And let him trust himselfe with the 
rest. For if he Labour too much to Expresse 
them, he shall lose their Grace; Which is to be 



214 ESS A YES. 

Naturall and Unaffected. Some Mens Behaviour, 
is like a Verse, wherein every Syllable is Meas- 
ured : How can a man comprehend great Matters, 
that breaketh his Minde too much to small Ob- 
servations? Not to use Cere mo flies at all, is to 
teach Others not to use them againe; And so 
diminisheth Respect to himselfe : Especially they 
be not to be omitted to Strangers, and Formall 
Natures : But the Dwelling upon them, & Exalt- 
ing them above the Moone, is not only Tedious, 
but doth Diminish the Faith and Credit of him 
that speakes. And certainly, there is a Kinde, 
of Conveying of Effectuall and Imprinting Pas- 
sages, amongst Complements, which is of Singu- 
lar use, if a Man can hit upon it. Amongst a 
Mans Peeres, a Man shall be sure of Familiaritie; 
And therefore, it is good a little to keepe State. 
Amongst a Mans Inferiours, one shall be sure of 
Reverence; And therefore it is good a little to 
be Familiar. He that is too much in any Thing, 
so that he.gjveth another Occasion of Sacietie, 
maketh himselfe cheape. To apply Ones Selfe 
to others, is good : So it be with Demonstration, 
that a Man doth it upon Regard, And not upon 
Facilitie. It is a good Precept, generally in 
Seconding Another, yet to adde somewhat of 
Ones Owne : As if you will grant his Opinion, 
let it be with some Distinction; If you will fol- 



OF PRAISE. 215 

low his Motion, let it bee with Condition; If you 
allow his Counsell, let it be with Alledging further 
Reason. Men had need beware, how they be too 
Perfect in Complements; For be they never so 
Sufificient otherwise, their Enviers will be sure 
to give them that Attribute, to the Disadvantage 
of their greater Vertues. It is losse also in 
Businesse, to be too full of Respects, or to be too 
Curious in Observing Times and Opportunities. 
Salomon saith; He that considereth the wind, 
shall^ not Sow, and he that looketh to the Clouds^ 
shall not I'eape. A wise Man will make more 
Opportunities then he findes. Mens Behaviour 
should be like their Apparell, not too Strait, or 
point Device, but Free for Exercise or Motion. 



LIII. 

OF PRAISE. 

Praise is the Reflection of Vertue. But it is 
as the Glasse or Bodie, which giveth the Reflec- 
tion. If it be from the Common People, it is 
commonly False and Naught: And rather fol- 
loweth Vaine Persons, then Vertuous: For the 
Common People understand not many Excellent 
Vertues : The Lowest Vertues draw Praise from 
them; The middle Vertues worke in them Aston- 



2l6 ESS A YES. 

ishment, or Admiration; But of the Highest Ver- 
tues, they have no Sense, or Perceiving at all. 
But Shewes, and Species virtutibus si?fitles, serve 
best with them. Certainly, Fame is like a River, 
that beareth up Things Light and Swolne, And 
Drownes Things waighty and Solide : But if per- 
sons of Qualitie and Judgement concurre, then it 
is, (as the Scripture saith) Nomcn bonu77i insta?' 
imguenti fragrantis. It fiUeth all round about, 
and will not easily away. For the Odours of Oynt- 
ments, are more Durable, then those of Flowers. 
There be so many False Points of Praise, that a 
Man may justly hold it a Suspect. Some Praises 
proceed meerely of Flattery; And if hee be an 
Ordinary Flatterer, he will have certaine Com- 
mon Attributes, which may serve every Man; If 
he be a Cunning Flatterer, he will follow the 
Arch-flatterer, which is a Mans selfe; and wherein 
a Man thinketh best of himselfe, therein the 
Flatterer will uphold him most : But if he be an 
Impudent Flatterer, look wherin a man is Con- 
scious to himselfe, that he is most Defective, and 
is most out of Countenance in himselfe, that will 
the Flatterer Entitle him to, perforce, Spretd 
Conscientid. Some Praises come of good Wishes, 
and Respects, which is a Forme due in Civilitie 
to Kings, and Great Persons, Laudando prceci- 
pere ; When by telling Men, what they are, they 



OF PRAJrSE. 217 

represent to them, what they should be. Some 
Men are Praised Maliciously to their Hurt, therby 
to stirre Envie and Jealousie towards them; Pes- 
sinitDn genus Inimicoj^iim laudantiiim ; In so much 
as it was a Proverb, amongst the Grecians ; that 
He that was praised to his Hurt, should have a 
Push rise upon his Nose: As we say; That a 
Blister will rise upon ones Tongue, that telPs a lye. 
Certainly Moderate Praise, used with Oppor- 
tunity, and not Vulgar, is that which doth the 
Good. Salo7non saith. He that praise th his Frend 
aloud. Rising Early, it shall be to him, no better 
then a Curse. Too much Magnifying of Man or 
Matter, doth irritate Contradiction, and procure 
Envie and Scorne. To Praise a Mans selfe, can- 
not be Decent, except it be in rare Cases: But 
to Praise a Mans Office or Profession, he may 
doe it with Good Grace, and with a Kinde of 
Magnanimitie. The Cardinals of Rome, which 
are Theologues, and Friars, and Schoole-men, 
have a Phrase of Notable Contempt and Scorne, 
towards Civill Businesse : For they call all Tem- 
porall Businesse, of Warres, Embassages, Judi- 
cature, & other Emploiments, Sbii'7'erie ; which 
is, Under-Sheriffries ; As if they were but matters 
for Under-Sheriffes and Catchpoles ; Though many 
times, those Under- She7'ife?'ies doe more good, 
then their High Speculations. S^. Paul, when he 



2l8 ESSAYES. 

boasts of himself e, he doth oft enterlace; Ispeake 
like a Foole ; But speaking of his Calling, he 
saith; Magnificabo Apostolatinn vieiun. 

LIIII. 

OF VAINE- GLORY. 

It was prettily Devised of ^sope ; The Fly 
sate upon the Axle-tree of the Chariot wheele, and 
said, What a Dust doe I raise ? So are there some 
Vaine Fersofis, that whatsoever goeth alone, or 
moveth upon greater Means, if they have never 
so little Hand in it, they thinke it is they that 
carry it. They that are GlofHous, must needs be 
Factious ; For all Bravery stands upon Compari- 
sons. They must needs be Violent, to make good 
their owne Vaunts. Neither can they be Secret, 
and therefore not Effectuall; but according to 
the French Proverb ; Beaucoiip de Bruit, pen de 
Fruit: Much Bruit, little Fruit. Yet certainly 
there is Use of this Qualitie, in Civill Affaires. 
Where there is an Opinion, and Fame to be 
created, either of Vertue, or Greatnesse, these 
Men are good Trumpetters. Again, as Titus 
Livius noteth, in the Case of Antiochus, and the 
^tolians ; There are sometimes great Effects of 
Crosse Lies; As if a Man, that Negotiates between 



OF VAINE- GLORY. 219 

Two Princes, to draw them to joyne in a Warre 
against the Third, doth extoll the Forces of either 
of them, above Measure, the One to the Other: 
And sometimes, he that deales between Man and 
Man, raiseth his owne Credit, with Both, by pre- 
tending greater Interest, then he hath in Either. 
And in these, and the like Kindes, it often falls 
out, that Somewhat is produced of Nothing : For 
Lies are sufficient to breed Opinion, and Opinion 
brings on Substance. In Militar Commanders 
and Soldiers, Vaine-GIory is an Essentiall Point; 
For as Iron sharpens Iron, so by Glory one Cour- 
age sharpneth another. In Cases of great Enter- 
prise, upon Charge and Adventure, a Composition 
of Glorious Natures, doth put Life into Businesse; 
And those that are of Solide and Sober Natures, 
have more of the Ballast, then of the Saile. In 
Fame of Learning, the Flight will be slow, with- 
out some Feathers of Ostentation. Qui de con- 
temnendd Gloria Libros scribiint, Nofnen suum 
insc7'ibunt. Socrates, Aristotle, Galen, were Men 
full of Ostentation. Certainly Vaine- Glory ht\^- 
eth to Perpetuate a Mans Memory; And Vertue 
was never so Beholding to Humane Nature, as it 
received his due at the Second Hand. Neither 
had the Fame of Cicero, Seneca, Plinius Secundiis, 
borne her Age so well, if it had not been joyned, 
with some Vanity in themselves : Like unto Var- 



220 ESS A YES. 

nish, that makes Seelings not onely Shine, but 
Last. But all this while, when I speake of Vaine- 
GIo7y, I meane not of that Property, that Tacitus 
doth attribute to Mucianus ; Omitmm, qiice dixe- 
7'at, feceratque, Arte quadam Ostentator : For that 
proceeds not of Vanity, but of Natural! Magna- 
nimity, and discretion : And in some Persons, is 
not onely Comely, but Gracious. For Excusa- 
tions. Cessions, Modesty it selfe well Governed, 
are but Arts of Ostentation. And amongst those 
Arts, there is none better, then that which Plinius 
Secundus speaketh of; which is to be Liberall of 
Praise and Commendation to others, in that, 
wherein a Mans Selfe hath any Perfection. For 
saith Pliny very Wittily; /;/ commending Anothei', 
you doe your self e right ; For he that you Commend, 
is either Superiour to you, in that you Commend, 
or Inferiour. If he be Inferiour, if he be to be 
Commended, yoti much more: If he be Superiour, 
if he be not to be Commended, you much lesse. 
Glorious Men are the Scorne of Wise Men; the 
Admiration of Fooles; the Idols of Parasites; 
And the Slaves of their own Vaunts. 



OF HONOUR AND REPUTATION. 221 



LV. 

OF HONOUR AND REPUTATION. 

The Winning of Ho?iour, is but the Revealing 
of a Mans Vertue and Worth, without Disad- 
vantage. For some in their Actions, doe Wooe 
and affect Honour, and Reputation : Which Sort 
of Men, are commonly much Talked of, but 
inwardly little Admired. And some, contrari- 
wise, darken their Vertue, in the Shew of it; So 
as they be under-valued in opinion. If a Man 
performe that which hath not beene attempted 
before; Or attempted & given over; Or hath 
beene atchieved, but not with so good Circum- 
stance; he shall purchase more Honour , then by 
Effecting a Matter of greater Difficulty, or Ver- 
tue, wherein he is but a Follower. If a Man so 
temper his Actions, as in some one of them, hee 
doth content everie Faction, or Combination of 
People, the Musicke will bee the fuller. A man 
is an ill Husband of his Honour, that entreth 
into any Action, the Failing wherein may dis- 
grace him more, then the Carying of it through 
can Honor him. Honour, that is gained and 
broken upon Another, hath the quickest Reflec- 



222 ESS A YES. 

tion; Like Diamonds cut with Fascets. And 
therefore, let a Man contend, to excell any Com- 
petitors of his in Honoirr, in Out-shooting them, 
if he can, in their owne Bowe. Discreet Fol- 
lowers and Servants helpe much to Reputation : 
Oninis Favia a Domesticis emanat. Envy, which 
is the Canker of Honour, is best extinguished, by 
declaring a Mans Selfe, in his Ends, rather to 
seeke Merit, then Fame : And by Attributing a 
Mans Successes, rather to divine Providence and 
Felicity, then to his owne Vertue or Policy. The 
true Marshalling of the Degrees of Soveraigne 
Honour are these. In the First Place are Con- 
ditores Imperiorum ; Founders of States, and Com- 
mon- Wealths : Such as were Romulus, Cyrus, 
Ccesar, Ottoman, Ismael. In the Second Place 
are Legis- la to res, Lawgivers ; which are also called. 
Second Founders, or Perpetui Principes, because 
they Governe by their Ordinances, after they are 
gone : Such were Lycurgus, Solon, Justinian, Ead- 
gar, Alphonsus of Castile, the Wise, that made 
the Siete Partidas. In the Third Place, are 
Liberatores, or Salvatores : Such as compound 
the long Miseries of Civill Warres, or deliver 
their Countries from Servitude of Strangers, or 
Tyrants; As Augustus Caesar, Vespasianus, Aure- 
lianus, Theodoricus, K. Henry the 7. of Eng- 
land, K. Henry the 4. of Frafice. In the Fourth 



OF HONOUR AND REPUTATION. 223 

Place, are Propagatores or Proptignatores Imperij ; 
Such as in Honourable Warres enlarge their Ter- 
ritories, or make Noble defence against Invaders. 
And in the Last Place, are Patres Patrice ; which 
reigne justly, & make the Times good, -wherein 
they live. Both which last Kindes, need no Ex- 
amples, they are in such Number. Degrees of 
Honour in Subjects are; First, Participes Cura- 
ru7n ; Those upon whom Princes doe discharge 
the greatest Weight of their Affaires; T\\^\x Right 
Bands, as we call them. The Next are, Duces 
Belli, Great Leaders ; Such as are Princes Lieu- 
tenants, and doe them Notable Services in the 
Warres. The Third are, Gratiosi ; Favourites ; 
Such as exceed not this Scantling; To be Solace 
to the Soveraigne, and Harmelesse to the People. 
And the Fourth, Negotijs pai'es ; Such as have 
great Places under Princes, and execute their 
Places with Sufficiency. There is an Honour 
likewise, which may be ranked amongst the 
Greatest, which happeneth rarely: That is, of 
such as Sacrifice themselves, to Death or Danger, 
for the Good of their Countrey : As was M. 
Regulus, and the Two Decij, 



224 ESS A YES. 

LVI. 

OF JUDICATURE. 

Judges ought to remember, that their Office is 
Jus dice re, and not Jus dai-e ; To Interpret Law ^ 
and not to Make Law, or Give Law, Else will 
it be like the Authority, claimed by the Church 
of Rome; which under pretext of Exposition of 
Scripture, doth not sticke to Adde and Alter; 
And to Pronounce that, which they doe not 
Finde ; And by Shew of Antiquitie, to introduce 
Noveltie. Judges ought to be more Learned, then 
Wittie; More Reverend, then Plausible; And 
more Advised, then Confident. Above all Things, 
Integritie is their Portion, and Proper Vertue. 
Cicrsed (saith the Law) is hee that removeth the 
Land-marJze. The Mislaier of a Meere Stone is 
to blame. But it is the '\Jn]\x?,X. Judge, that is the 
Capitall Remover of Land-markes, when he De- 
fineth amisse of Lands and Propertie. One 
Foule Sentence, doth more Hurt, then many 
Foule Examples. For these doe but Corrupt the 
Streame; The other Corrupteth the Fountaine. 
So saith Salomon; Fons turbatus, 6^ Vena cor- 
rupta, est Justus cadens in causa sua coram Adver- 



OF JUDICA TURE. 225 

sario. The Office oi Judges, may have Reference, 
Unto the Parties that sue ; Unto the Advocates 
that Plead; Unto the Clei-kes and Ministers of 
Justice underneath them; And to the Soveraig7ie 
or State above them. 

First, for the Causes or Parties that Sue. There 
he (saith the Scripture) that tur?ie Judgement into 
Wonne-wood ; And surely, there be also, that 
turne it into Vinegar ; For Injustice maketh it 
Bitter, and Delaies make it Soure. The Princi- 
pal! Dutie of di Judge, is to suppresse Force and 
Fraud; whereof Force is the more Pernicious, 
when it is Open; And Fraud, when it is Close 
and Disguised. Adde thereto Contentious Suits, 
which ought to be spewed out, as the Surfet of 
Courts. A Judge ought to prepare his Way to a 
Just Sentence, as God useth to prepare his Way, 
by Raising Valleys, and Taking downe Hills ; So 
when there appeareth on either side, an High 
Hand; Violent Prosecution, Cunning Advantages 
taken. Combination, Power, Great Counsell, then 
is the Vertue of 2. Judge scene, to make Inequalitie 
Equall; That he may plant \\\s Judgement, as upon 
an Even Ground. Qui fortiter emungit, elicit 
sanguinejn ; And where the Wine-Presse is hard 
wrought, it yeelds a harsh Wine, that tastes of the 
Grape-stone. Judges must beware of Hard Con- 
structions, and Strained Inferences; For there is 
Q 



226 ESS A YES. 

no Worse Torture, then the Torture of Lawes. 
Specially in case of Lawes Penall, they ought to 
have Care, that that which was meant for Ter- 
rour, be not turned into Rigour; And that they 
bring not upon the People, that Shower, whereof 
the Scripture speaketh : Fluet super eos Laqueos : 
For Penall Lawes Pressed, are a Shower of Snares 
upon the People. Therefore, let Penall Lawes^ 
if they have beene Sleepers of long, or if they 
be growne unfit for the present Time, be by Wise 
Judges confined in the Execution; 

Ju diets Offieium est^ ut Res, ita Tempoi-a Rertim, 

c^e. 

In Causes of Zi/e and Dealk ; Judges ought (as 
farre as the Law permitteth) in Justice to re- 
member Mercy; And to Cast a Severe Eye upon 
the Example, but a Mercifull Eye upon the 
Person. 

Secondly, for the Advocates and Counsell that 
Plead: Patience and Gravitie of Hearing, is an 
Essentiall Part of Justice; And an Over-speaking 
Judge is no well tuned CymbalL It is no Grace 
to a Judge, first to finde that, which hee might 
have heard, in due time, from the Barre; or to 
shew Quicknesse of Conceit in Cutting off Evi- 
dence or Counsell too short; Or to prevent In- 
formation, by Questions though Pertinent. The 



OF JUDICA TURE. 22/ 

Parts of 2, Judge in Hearing are Foure : To direct 
the Evidence; To Moderate Length, Repetition, 
or Impertinency of Speech; To Recapitulate, 
Select, and Collate, the Materiall Points of that, 
which hath beene said; And to Give the Rule or 
Sentence. Whatsoever is above these, is too 
much; And proceedeth, Either of Glory and 
vvillingnesse to Speake; Or of Impatience to 
Heare; Or of Shortnesse of Memorie; Or of 
Want of a Staid and Equall Attention. It is a 
Strange Thing to see, that the Boldnesse of Advo- 
cates, should pre vaile with y^^^2^<?j-/ Whereas they 
should imitate God, in whose Seat they sit; who 
represseth the Presumptuous, and giveth Grace to 
the Modest. But it is more Strange, that Judges 
should have Noted Favourites; Which cannot but 
Cause Multiplication of Fees, and Suspicion of 
Bywaies. There is due from the Judge, to the 
Advocate, some Commendation and Gracing, 
where Causes are well Handled, and faire 
Pleaded; Especially towards the Side which 
obtaineth not; For that upholds, in the Cliefit, 
the Reputation of his Counsell, and beats downe, 
in him, the Conceit of his Cause. There is 
likewise due to the Publique, a Civill Reprehen- 
sion of Advocates, where there appeareth Cunning 
Counsel, Grosse Neglect, Slight Information, 
Indiscreet Pressing, or an Over-bold Defence. 



228 ESS A YES. 

And let not the Coimsell at the Barre, chop with 
\.\\Q Judge, nor winde himself e into the handling 
of the Cajtse anew, after the Judge hath Declared 
his Sentence : But on the other side, Let not the 
Judge meet the Cause halfe Way; Nor give 
Occasion to the Partie to say; His Coimsell or 
Proofes were not heard. 

Thirdly, for that that concernes Clerks, and 
Mijiisters. The Place oi Justice, is an Hallowed 
Place; And therefore, not only the Bench, but 
the Foot-pace, and Precincts, and Purprise 
thereof, ought to be preserved without Scandall 
and Corruption. For certainly, Grapes, (as the 
Scriptuj-e saith) 7vill not be gathered of Thames or 
Thistles : Neither cd^n Justice yeeld her Fruit with 
Sweetnesse, amongst the Briars and Brambles, of 
Catching and Poling Clerkes and Ministers. The 
Attendance of Courts is subject to Foure bad 
Instruments. First, Certaine Persons, that are 
Sowers of Suits; which make the Court swell, and 
the Country pine. The Second Sort is of those, 
that ingage Courts, in Quarells of Jurisdiction, 
and are not truly Amici Curice, but Parasiti 
Curice; in pufifing a Court up beyond her Bounds, 
for their owne Scraps, and Advantage. The 
Third Sort is of those, that may be accounted, 
the Left Hands of Courts; Persons that are full 
of Nimble and Sinister Trickes and Shifts, 



OF JUDICA TURE. 229 

whereby they pervert the Plaine and Direct 
Courses of Courts, and \>x\x\g Justice into Oblique 
Lines and Labyrinths. And the Fourth is, the 
Poler and Exacter of Fees; which justifies the 
Common Resemblance of the Courts of Jistice, 
to the Bush, whereunto while the Sheepe flies for 
defence in Wether, hee is sure to loose Part of 
his Fleece. On the other side, an Anciejit 
Ckrke, skilfull in Presidents, Wary in Proceed- 
ing, and Understanding in the Busiiiesse of the 
Court, is an excellent Finger of a Court ; And 
doth many times point the way to the Judge 
himselfe. 

Fourthly, for that which may concerne the 
Soveraigne and Estate. Judges ought above all 
to remember the Conclusion of the Roman Twelve 
Tables; Salus Poptili Supreina Lex ; And to know, 
that Lawes, except they bee in Order to that 
End, are but Things Captious, and Oracles not 
well Inspired. Therefore it is an Happie Thing 
in a State, when Kings and States doe often Con- 
sult with y/z^/^^j-/ And againe, when y>/^<fi- doe 
often Consult with the Ki7igdinA State: The one, 
when there is Matter of Law, intervenient in 
Businesse of State; The other, when there is some 
Consideration of State, intervenient in Matter of 
Law. For many times, the Things Deduced to 
Judgement, may bee Meuju and Tuum^ when the 



230 ESSAVES. 

Reason and Consequence thereof, may Trench 
to Point of Estate : I call Matter of Estate, not 
onely the parts of Soveraigfitie, but whatsoever 
introduceth any Great Alteration, or Dangerous 
president; Or Concerneth manifestly any great 
Portion of People. And let no Man weakly con- 
ceive, that Just Laws, and True Policie, have any 
A}itipathie : For they are like the Spirits, and 
Sinewes, that One moves with the other. Let 
Judges also remember, that Salo7nons Throne^ 
was supported by Lions, on both Sides; Let them 
be Lions, but yet Lions under the Throne; Being 
circumspect, that they doe not checke, or oppose 
any Points of Soveraigntie. Let not Judges also, 
be so Ignorant of their owne Right, as to thinke, 
there is not left to them, as a Principall Part of 
their Office, a Wise Use, and application of 
Lawes. For they may remember, what the 
Apostle saith, of Greater Law, then theirs; Nos 
scunus quia Lex bona est, rnodo quis ed utatur 
Legitime, 



LVIL 

OF ANGER. 

To seeke to extinguish Anger utterly, is but a 
Bravery of the Stoickes. We have better Oracles : 



OF ANGER. 231 

Be Angry, but Smne not. Let not the Sunne goe 
downe upon your Anger. Anger must be limited, 
and confined, both in Race, and in Time. We 
will first speake, How the Naturall Inclination, 
and Habit, To be Angry, may bee attempred, and 
calmed. Secondly, How the Particular Motions 
of Anger, may be repressed, or at least refrained 
from doing Mischiefe. Thirdly, How to raise 
Anger, or appease Anger, in Another. 

For the first; There is no other Way, but to 
Meditate and Ruminate well, upon the Effects of 
Anger, how it troubles Mans Life. And the best 
Time, to doe this, is, to looke backe upon Anger, 
when the Fitt is throughly over. Seneca saith 
well; That Anger is tike Ruine, ivhich breakes it 
Selfe, upon that it fail's. The Scripture exhorteth 
us; To possesse our Soules in Patience. Whoso- 
ever is out of Fatiejice, is out of Possession of 
his Soule. Men must not turne Bees : 

Animasque in vulnere ponunt. 



Anger is certainly a kinde of Basenesse : As it 
appeares well, in the Weaknesse of those Sub- 
jects, in whom it reignes: Children, Women, 
Old Folkes, Sicke Folkes. Onely Men must 
beware, that they carry their Anger, rather with 
Scorne, then with Feare : So that they may seeme 
rather, to be above the Injury, then below it; 



232 £SSAy£S. 

which is a Thing easily done, if a Man will give 
Law to himselfe in it. 

For the Second Point; The Causes and Motives 
of Ange?', are chiefly three. First, to be too 
Sensible of Hu7't : For no Man is Angry, that 
Feeles not himselfe Hurt : And therefore Tender 
and Delicate Persons, must needs be oft Angry : 
They have so many Things to trouble them; 
Which more Robust Natures have little Sense of. 
The next is, the Apprehension and Construction, 
of the Injury offred, to be, in the Circumstances 
thereof, full of Contempt. For Conte7npt is that 
which putteth an Edge upon Anger, as much, 
or more, then the Hurt it selfe. And therefore, 
when Men are Ingenious, in picking out Circum- 
stances of Contempt, they doe kindle their Anger 
much. Lastly, Opinion of the Touch of a Mans 
Reputation, doth multiply and sharpen Anger. 
Wherein the Remedy is, that a Man should have, 
as Consalvo was wont to say, Telam Honoris 
crassiorem. But in all Refrainings of Afiger, it 
is the best Remedy to win Time; And to make 
a Mans Selfe beleeve, that the Opportunity of 
his Revenge is not yet come : But that he foresees 
a Time for it; And so to still Himselfe in the 
meane Time, and reserve it. 

To containe Anger from Mischiefe, though it 
take hold of a Man, there be two Things, whereof 



OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 233 

you must have speciall Caution. The one, of 
extreme Bitternesse of Words ; Especially, if they 
be Aculeate, and Proper: For Comjnunia Male- 
dicta are nothing so much: And againe, that in 
Anger, a Man reveale no Secrets : For that makes 
him not fit for Society. The other, that you doe 
not peremptorily break off, in any Businesse, in a 
Fittoi Anger : But howsoever you shew Bitternes, 
do not Act any thing, that is not Revocable. 

For Raising and Appeasing Anger in Another; 
It is done chiefly, by Choosing of Times, when 
Men are frowardest and worst disposed, to 
incense them. Againe, by gathering (as was 
touched before) all that you can finde out, to 
aggravate the Contempt. And the two Remedies 
are by the Contraries. The Former, to take 
good Times, when first to relate to a Man, an 
Angry Businesse : For the first Impression is 
much; And the other is, to sever, as much as 
may be, the Construction of the Injury, from the 
Point of Contempt: Imputing it, to Misunder- 
standing, Feare, Passion, or what you will. 

LVIII. 

OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 

Salomon saith; There is no New Thing upon 
the Earth. So that djs> Plato had an Imagination; 



234 ESSAYES, 

That ail Knowledge was but Refneffibrance : So 
Salomon giveth his Sentence; That all Noveltie 
is but Oblivion. Whereby you may see, that the 
River of Lethe, runneth as well above Ground, 
as below. There is an abstruse Astrologer that 
saith; If it were not, for two things, that are Con- 
stant; {The one is, that the Fixed Star res ever 
stand at like distance, one from another, and never 
come nea7'er together, nor goe further asunder ; 
The other, that the Diurnall Motion perpetually 
keepeth Time:) No hidividuall would last one 
Moment. Certain it is, that the Matter, is in a 
Perpetuall Flux, and never at a Stay. The great 
Winding-sheets, that burie all Things in Oblivion, 
are two; Deluges, and Earth-quakes. As for 
Conflagrations, and great Droughts, they doe not 
meerely dispeople, and destroy. Phaetons Carre 
went but a day. And the Three yeares Drought, 
in the time of Elias, was but Particular, and left 
People Alive. As for the great Burnings by 
Lightnings, which are often in the West Lndies, 
they are but narrow. But in the other two De- 
structions, by Deluge, and Earth-quake, it is 
further to be noted, that the Remnant of People, 
which hap to be reserved, are commonly Igno- 
rant and Mountanous People, that can give no 
Account, of the Time past: So that the Oblivion 
is all one, as if none had beene left. If you 



OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 235 

consider well, of the People of the West Indies^ 
it is very probable, that they are a Newer, or a 
Younger People, then the People of the Old 
World. And it is much more likely, that the 
Destruction, that hath heretofore been there, was 
not by Earth-quakes, (As the ^gyptia?t Priest 
told Solon, concerning the Island of Atlantis; 
That it was swallowed by an Ea7'th-quake ;) But 
rather, that it was desolated, by a Particular 
Deluge. For Ea?'th-quakes are seldome in those 
Parts. But on the other side, they have such 
Powring Rivers, as the Rivers of Asia, and 
Affrick, and Europe, are but Brookes to them. 
Their Andes likewise, or Mountaines, are farre 
higher, then those with us; Whereby it seemes, 
that the Remnants of Generation of Men, were, 
in such a Particular Deluge, saved. As for the 
Observation, that Macciavel hath, that the Jeal- 
ousie of Sects, doth much extinguish the Memory 
of Things; Traducing Gregory the Great, that 
he did, what in him lay, to extinguish all Heathen 
Antiquities; I doe not finde, that those Zeales, 
doe any great Effects, nor last long: As it ap- 
peared in the Succession of Sabinian, who did 
revive the former Antiquities. 

The Vicissitude or Mutations, in the Superiour 
Globe, are no fit Matter, for this present Argu- 
ment. It may be, Plato's great Yearc, if the 



236 £SSAYES. 

World should last so long, would have some 
Effect; Not in renewing the State of like Indi- 
viduals (for that is the Fume of those, that con- 
ceive the Celestiall Bodies, have more accurate 
Influences, upon these Things below, then indeed 
they have) but in grosse. Comets, out of ques- 
tion, have likewise Power and Effect, over the 
Grosse and Masse of Things : But they are rather 
gazed upon, and waited upon in their Journey, 
then wisely observed in their Effects; Specially 
in their Respective Effects; That is, what Kinde 
of Comet, for Magnitude, Colour, Version of the 
Beames, Placing in the Region of Heaven, or 
Lasting, produceth what Kinde of Effects. 

There is a Toy, which I have heard, and I 
would not have it given over, but waited upon a 
little. They say, it is observed, in the Loiv 
Countries (I know not in what Part) that Every 
Five and Thirtie years, The same Kinde and 
Sute of Years and Weathers, comes about againe : 
As Great Frosts, Great Wet, Great Droughts, 
Warme Winters, Summers with little Heat, and 
the like: And they call it the Prime. It is a 
Thing, I doe the rather mention, because com- 
puting backwards, I have found some Con- 
currence. 

But to leave these Points of Nature, and to 
come to Men. The greatest Vicissitude of Things 



OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 237 

amongst Men, is the Vicissitude of Sects, and 
Religions. For those Orbs rule in Mens Minds 
most. The True Religion is built upon the Rocke ; 
The Rest are tost upon the Waves of Time. To 
speake therefore, of the Causes of New Sects; 
And to give some Counsell concerning them; As 
farre, as the Weaknesse of Humane Judgement, 
can give stay to so great Revolutions. 

When the Religion formerly received, is rent 
by Discords; And when the Holinesse of the 
Professours of Religion is decayed, and full of 
Scandall; And withall the Times be Stupid, 
Ignorant, and Barbarous; you may doubt the 
Springing up of a New Sect; If then also there 
should arise, any Extravagant and Strange Spirit, 
to make himselfe Authour thereof. All which 
Points held, when Mahomet published his Law. 
If 2, New Sect\vdLN& not two Properties, feare it 
not: For it will not spread. The one is, the 
Supplanting, or the opposing, of Authority estab- 
lished : For Nothing is more Popular then that. 
The other is, the Giving Licence to Pleasures, 
and a Voluptuous Life. For as for Speculative 
Heresies (such as were in Ancient Times the 
Arria7is, and now the Anitinians) though they 
worke mightily upon Mens Wits, yet they doe 
not produce any great Alterations in States; 
except it be by the Helpe of Civill Occasions. 



238 ESS A YES. 

There be three Manner of Plantations of New 
Sects. By the Power of Signes and Mi?'acles : 
By the Eloquence and Wisedojne of Speech and 
Perswasion : And by the Sword. For Martyr- 
domes, I reckon them ^xnongsi Miracles ; Because 
they seeme to exceed, the Strength of Human 
Nature: And I may do the like of Superlative 
and Admirable Holinesse of Life. Surely, there 
is no better Way, to stop the Rising of New 
Sects, and Schismes ; then To reforme Abuses; 
To compound the smaller Differences; To pro- 
ceed mildly, and not with Sanguinary Persecu- 
tions; And rather to take off the principall 
Authours, by Winning and Advancing them, 
then to enrage them by Violence and Bitternesse. 
The Changes and Vicissitude in War7-es are 
many; But chiefly in three Things; In the Seats 
or Stages of the Warre ; In the Weapons; And 
in the Maniier of the Co7iduct. Warres in 
ancient Time, seemed more to move from East 
to West : For the Persians, Assyrians, Arabians, 
Tartars, (which were the Invaders) were all 
Easterne People. It is true, the Gaules were 
Westerne; But we reade but of two Incursions of 
theirs; The one to Gallo-Grecia, the other to 
Rotne. But East and West have no certaine 
Points of Heaven : And no more have the Warres, 
either from the East, or West, any Certainty of 



OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 239 

Observation. But North and South are fixed: 
And it hath seldome or never been seene, that 
the farre Southern People have invaded the 
Northern, but contrariwise. Whereby it is 
manifest, that the No}'thern Tract of the World, 
is in Nature the more Martiall Region : Be it, in 
respect of the Stars of that Hemisphere; Or of 
the great Continents that are upon the Norths 
whereas the South Fart, for ought that is knowne, 
is almost all Sea; Or (which is most apparent) of 
the Cold of the Northern Parts, which is that, 
which without Aid of Discipline, doth make the 
Bodies hardest, and the Courages warmest. 

Upon the Breaking and Shivering of a great 
State and E^npire, you may be sure to have 
Warres. For great Empires, while they stand, 
doe enervate and destroy the Forces of the 
Natives, which they have subdued, resting upon 
their owne Protecting Forces: And then when 
they faile also, all goes to ruine, and they become 
a Prey. So was it, in the Decay of the Roman 
Empire; And likewise, in the Empire of Al- 
maigne, after Charles the Great, every Bird tak- 
ing a Fether; And were not unlike to befall to 
Spaine, if it should break. The great Accessions 
and Unions of Kingdomes, doe likewise stirre up 
Warres. For when a State growes to an Over- 
power, it is like a great Floud, that will be sure 



240 ESSA YES. 

to overflow. As it hath been seene, in the 
States of Rome, Turky, Spaine, and others. 
Looke when the World hath fewest Barbaj'ous 
Peoples, but such as commonly will not marry or 
generate, except they know meanes to live; (As 
it is almost every where at this day, except Tar- 
tary) there is no Danger of Inundations of 
People : But when there be g7'eat Slioales of 
People, which goe on to populate, without fore- 
seeing Meanes of Life and Sustentation, it is of 
Necessity, that once in an Age or two, they dis- 
charge a Portion of their People upon other 
Nations: Which the ancient No7'the7-n People, 
were wont to doe by Lot: Casting Lots, what 
Part should stay at home, and what should seeke 
their Fortunes. When a Warre-like State growes 
Soft and Effeminate, they may be sure of a 
Warre. For commonly such States are growne 
rich, in the time of their Degenerating; And 
so the Prey inviteth, and their Decay in Valour 
encourage th a Warre. 

As for the Weapons, it hardly falleth under 
Rule and Observation: yet we see, even they 
have Returnes and Vicissitudes. For certain it 
is, that Oi'dnance was known in the Citty of the 
Oxidrakes in India; And was that, which the 
Macedonians called Thunder and Lightning, and 
Magicke. And it is well knowne, that the use 



OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS. 24 1 

of Ordnance hath been in China, above 2000. 
yeares. The Conditions of Weapons, & their 
Improvement are; First, The Fetching a farre 
off : For that outruns the Danger : As it is seene 
in Ordnance and Muskets. Secondly, the Strength 
of the Percussion; wherin likewise Ordnance ^oq 
exceed all Arietations; and ancient Inventions. 
The third is, the commodious use of them: As 
that they may serve in all Wethers; That the 
Carriage may be Light and Manageable; and the 
like. 

For the Conduct of the Warre : At the first, 
Men rested extremely upon Number : They did 
put the Warres likewise upon Maine Force, and 
Valour ; Pointing Dayes for Pitched Fields, and 
so trying it out, upon an even Match : And they 
were more ignorant in Ranging and Arraying 
their Battailes. After they grew to rest upon 
Number, rather Competent, then Vast: They 
grew to Advantages oi Place, Cunning Diversions, 
and the like : And they grew more skilful in the 
Ordering of their Battailes. 

In the Youth of a State, Amies doe flourish; 
In the Middle Age of a State, Leai'ning; And then 
both of them together for a time : In the Declin- 
ing Age of a State, Mechanicall Arts and Mer- 
chandize. Learning hath his Infancy, when it is 
but beginning, and almost Childish: Then his 



242 ESSA YES. 

Youth, when it is Luxuriant and Juvenile : Then 
his Strength of yeares, when it is Solide and Re- 
duced : And lastly, his old Age, when it waxeth 
Dry and Exhaust. But it is not good, to looke 
too long, upon these turning Wheeles of Vicissi- 
tude, lest we become Giddy. As for the Phi- 
lology of them, that is but a Circle of Tales, and 
therefore not fit for this Writing. 



A FRAGMENT, OF AN ESSAY, 

OF FAME. 

The Poets make Fai?ie a Monster. They de- 
scribe her, in Part, finely, and elegantly; and, 
in part, gravely, and sententiously. They say, 
look how many Feathers she hath, so many Eyes 
she hath underneath: So many Tongues; So 
many Voyces; She pricks up so many Ears. 

This is a flourish : There follow excellent 
Parables; As that, she gathereth strength in 
going; That she goeth upon the ground, and 
yet hideth her head in the Clouds. That, in 
the day time, she sitteth in a Watch Tower, and 
flyeth, most, by night: That she mingleth Things 
done, with things not done: And that she is a 
Terrour to great Citties : But that, which passeth 
all the rest, is : They do recount, that the Earth, 



OF FAME. 243 

Mother of the Gyants^ that made War against 
Jupiter, and were by him destroyed, thereupon, 
in an anger, brought forth Fame : For certain it 
is, That Rebels, figured by the Gyants, and Sedi- 
tious Fames, and Libels, are but Brothers, and 
Sisters ; Masculine, and Feminine. But now, if a 
Man can tame this Monster, and bring her to 
feed at the hand, and govern her, and with her 
fly other ravening Fowle, and kill them, it is 
somewhat worth. But we are infected, with the 
stile of the Poets. To speak now, in a sad, and 
serious manner: There is not, in all the Poli- 
tiques, a Place, lesse handled, and more worthy 
to be handled, then this of Fame. We will, 
therefore, speak of these points. What are false 
Fa7fies ; And what are true Fames ; And how they 
may be best discerned; How Fames, may be 
sown, and raised; How they may be spread, and 
multiplyed; And how they may be checked, and 
layed dead. And other Things, concerning the 
Natwe of Fame. Fame, is of that force, as 
there is, scarcely, any great Action wherein, it 
hath not, a great part; Especially, in the War. 
Mucianus undid Vitellius by a Fame, that he 
scattered; That Vitellius had in purpose, to re- 
move the Legions of Syria, into Ger?nany ; And 
the Legions of Ger^nany, into Syria : whereupon 
the Legions of Syria were infinitely inflamed. 



244 ^^^"^ y^^' 

Julius Ccesa?', took Pompey unprovided, and 
layed asleep his industry, and preparations, by 
a Fame that he cunningly gave out; How Ccesars 
own Souldiers loved him not; And being wearied 
with the Wars, and Laden with the spoyles of 
Gaul, would forsake him, as soon as he came 
into Italy. Livia, setled all things, for the Suc- 
cession, of her Son Tiberius, by continuall giving 
out, that her husband Augustus, was upon Re- 
covery, and amendment. And it is an usuall 
thing, with the Basslunves, to conceale the Death 
of the Great Turk from the Jannizaries, and men 
of War, to save the Sacking of Coiistantinople, 
and other Towns, as their Manner is. Themis- 
tocles, made Zerxes, king of Persia poast apace 
out of Grcecia, by giving out, that the Grecians, 
had a purpose, to break his Bridge, of Ships, 
which he had made athwart Hellespont. There 
be a thousand such like Examples; And the 
more they are, the lesse they need to be repeated; 
Because a Man, meeteth with them, everywhere; 
Therefore, let all Wise Gover7iers, have as great 
a watch, and care, over Fames, as they have, of 
the Actions, and Designes themselves. 

The rest was not Finished, 



The text of the present issue is that of the Third Edition of the 
'* Essays," the final authorised edition, published by Bacon in 
1625. The over-elaborate punctuation, the capital letters, and 
the archaic spellitig {except the old use of u, v, and i, j), have 
deeti retained. 

" A fragment of an Essay, of Fame" is from Dr. Rawley's 
' Resuscitatio," 1657. 



245 



INDEX OF QUOTATIONS AND FOREIGN 
PHRASES. 

[The figures in brackets refer to the pages.] 

Abeunt studia in mores (209) : Studies pass into [i.e., go to 

form] character. 
Adeste, si, etc. (6) : Come now, if anything remains for me 

to do. 
Amici curice . . . Parasiti curies (228) : ' friends of the court ' 

. . . parasites of the court. 
Animasque in vulnere (231) : And leave their Uves ['souls'] 

in the wound. 
At domus, etc. (151) : But the house of ^neas shall rule over 

all the coasts — his children's children too, and those that 

shall be born of them. 
Atque is habitas, etc. (63) : The temper of men's minds was 

such, that while only a few dared so vile a deed, many 

desired it and all acquiesced in it. 

Ccesarem portas (169) : You carry Caesar and his fortune. 
Cogita quam diu, etc. (6) : Consider how long you have been 

doing the same things : death may be desired not only 

by the valiant or the miserable, but also by the fastidious. 
Comniunia mcdedicta (233), ill words applicable to all and 

sundry. 
Concessum propter duritiem cordis (170) : a thing allowed on 

account of the hardness of men's hearts. 
Conflata magna invidia (54) : When great ill-will has been 

conceived [towards a ruler], all his acts, good or bad, 

alike condemn him. 
Consilium Pompeii (131) : Pompey follows the right Thenais- 

toclean policy : he thinks that he who commands the sea, 

commands all. 

246 



INDEX OF QUOTATIONS. 247 

Cum non sis, etc. (39) : When you are no longer what you 

were, there is no reason why you should wish to live. 
Cymini sectores (210), dividers of cummin-seed, ' hair-splitters.' 

De facto (41) : as a fact, as an actual possession. 
Desemboltura (168), 'dexterity, readiness' (Percival) ; an 

adroitness which finds an easy and graceful outlet on all 

occasions for what it is in a man to do or say. 
Devita pro/anas, etc. (11) : Avoid profane novelties of words 

and oppositions of science falsely so called. 
Dolendi modus (57) : There is a limit to grieving, but none to 

fearing. 
Duces belli (223) , military leaders. 

Ecce in deserto . . . Ecce in penetrallbus (8) : Behold, he is in 
the desert . . . behold, he is in the secret chambers. 

Erant tn officio (55) : They were full of zeal, but more in- 
clined to discuss than to execute the orders of their 
officers. 

Et conversus Deus (41) : And God turned to behold the works 
which his hands had made, and saw that all were very 
good. 

Extinctus amabittir idem (7) : The same man [envied while 
alive], shall be loved when his light is out. 

Faber quisqzce (167) : Every man is the architect of his own 

fortune. 
Feri, si, etc. (6) : Strike, if it be for the good of the Roman 

people. 
Fans turbatus, etc. (224) : A righteous man being cast in his 

suit in presence of his adversary, is as a troubled fountain 

and a corrupt spring. 

HcBC pro amicitiH (109) : These things, out of regard for our 

friendship, I have not concealed. 
Hinc usura vorax (57) : Hence usury rapacious, and interest 

greedily looking to the reckoning-day, hence credit shaken, 

and war a gain to many. 
Hoc agere (87), keep to the business in hand. 



248 INDEX OF QUOTATIONS. 

Hominem delirum (104) : A madman, who wrecks weighty 
realities on mere verbal subtleties. 

Idem manebat (178) : He remained the same, when it was no 
longer becoming to him. 

Ig/iavum fucos pecus (170) : The drones, an idle swarm, they 
banish from their hives. 

Illam Terra pare7ts (54) : Her did mother Earth, inflamed with 
wrath against the Gods, beget (so runs the story), young- 
est sister to Coeus and Enceladus. 

Ille etiam ccecos, etc. (53) : He also [the sun] often gives warn- 
ing of dark rebellions imminent, of treachery and hidden 
warfare brewing. 

IIU mors gravis (40) : Death falls heavy on him, who, too well 
known to all others, dies to himself unknown. 

In illo viro (168) : There was in him such strength of body 
and mind, that in whatever rank he had been born, he 
would have been sure to win fortune for himself. 

Iniquum petas (207) : Ask for more than is just, in order to 
get what is just. 

In node consilhwi (87) : Night brings counsel. 

In studio rei, etc. (147) : In his pursuit of wealth it was plain 
that he sought, not food for avarice, but an instrument 
for generosity. 

In siidore vultiis alieni (149, 170) , in the sweat of another's face. 

In sudore vultiis tui (170) : In the sweat of thy face shalt thou 
eat bread. 

In veste varietas (11) : Let there be variety in the garment, 
but no rending thereof. 

Invidia festos (35) : Envy keeps no holidays, 

Ira hominis (14) : The wrath of man doth not fulfil the justice 
of God. 

Jam Tiberium vires, etc. (6) : Tiberius was fast losing his 

bodily strength, but not his gift of dissimulation. 
Judicis officium (226) : It is a judge's office to inquire not only 

into the facts of a case, but into the times and occasions 

thereof. 
Jus civitatis (126) , the right of citizenship ; jus commercii, etc. : 

the right of trading, of marriage, of heredity [i.e., of 



INDEX OF QUOTATIONS. 249 

making and receiving bequests], of suffrage, of holding 
public office. 
yuventutem egit (176) : He spent a youth full of errors, nay of 
madnesses. 

Lauda?ido prcBcipere (216), to instruct by praising. 
Legi a se, etc. (63) : His soldiers were levied, not bought. 
Liberatores or Salvatores (222), deliverers or saviours. 
Liberlks, qitdm, etc. (56) : More freely than was compatible 

with respect for their rulers. 
Livia, cotijugii, etc. (6) : Farewell, Livia, and keep after me 

the memory of our marriage. 

Magna civitas (106) : A great city is a great solitude. 

Magnificabo (218) : I will magnify mine office. 

Magno conatii nugas (103), [produce] trifles with great effort. 

Materiam superabit opus (59) : The workmanship will surpass 
the material. 

Melior nattira (67) , a better nature. 

Memento quod es, etc. (81) : Remerriber that thou art man. — 
Remember that thou art God, or God's vice-gerent. 

Mitte umbos (91) : Send them both naked before strangers and 
you shall see. 

Multum incola fuit (164) : My soul hath been long a so- 
journer. (Psalm cxx. 6) . 

Negotiis pares (120, 223), equal to conducting affairs. 

Nomen bonmn (216) : A good name like fragrant ointment. 

Non Decs vulgi (65) : It is not profane to deny the gods of 
the vulgar; but it is profane to apply to the gods the 
beliefs of the vulgar. 

Non est ctiriosus (30) : An inquisitive man is sure to be malev- 
olent also. 

Non estjai7i dicere (66) : We cannot now say : As the people, 
so is the priest. For in fact the people are not so [bad] 
as the priest. 

Non inveniet (85) : He shall not find faith on the earth. 

Nos scimus (230) : We know that the law is good, provided 
that a man use it lawfully. 

Nunc dimittis (7) : St. Luke ii. 29. 



250 INDEX OF QUOTATIONS. 

Octogesimus octavus (154) : The 88th is a year of wonders. 
Omnis fama {'2'2,'2) : All reputation comes from those who are 

of a man's household. 
Omniu7n consensu (43) : By common consent he was fit for 

empire — had he never become emperor. 
Omniian guce dlxerat (220) : He had an art of displaying to 

advantage all that he said and did. 
Optimi consUiarii (87) : The best counsellors are the dead. 
Opthmnn elige (25) : Choose "the best, and Custom will make 

it pleasant and easy. 
Optimus ille (163) : He best asserts the soul's freedom, who 

snaps the fetters that gall his breast, and ceases once for 

all to suffer. 

Padre commicne (212), common Father, Father of all aUke. 
Farce, puer (139) : Boy, use not the spur, but pull the reins 

tigliter. 
Parti cipes cur arum (108, 223), associates in their cares. 
Patres Patrice (223), fathers of their country. 
Perpetui principes (222), perpetual princes. 
Per saltum (32), at a bound. 
Pessimum genus (217), the worst sort of enemies, those that 

praise you, 
Philippis iterum (152) : Thou shalt see me again at Philippi. 
Placebo (88) : 'I will please ' (Ps. cxvi. 9) ; ' to sing a song of 

Placebo ' = to flatter, to be complaisant. 
Plenus rimarum sunt (84) : I am full of chinks. 
Pluet super eos (226) : He shall rain snares upon them. 
Poco di matto (168), a little of the fool or madman. 
Pompa mortis (5) It is the trappings of death that terrify. 

rather than death itself. 
Primum mobile (55, 69, 213), 'the first moveable' or 'first 

moved' {Paradise Lost, 3. 483), the tenth sphere or 

heaven of the old astronomy, which carried round with 

it in its revolution the lower spheres of the planets and 

fixed stars. 
Principis est (86) : A prince's greatest virtue is to know his 

men. 
Propagatores or Propugnatores imperii (223) : Extenders or 

defenders of empire. 



INDEX OF QUOTATIONS. 25 I 

Prudens advertit (96) : The wise man takes heed to his own 

steps ; the fool turns aside to deceits. 
Pulchrorum autmnnus piilcher (180) : The autumn of the 

beautiful is beautiful. 

Quam volumus licet (68) : Esteem ourselves as we may, Sena- 
tors, yet we are not superior to the Spaniards in numbers, 
nor to the Gauls in bodily force, nor to the Carthaginians 
in cunning, nor to the Greeks in arts, nor, finally, to the 
Italians and Latins themselves m the native inborn senti- 
ment of this land and nation ; but in piety, and religion, 
and the one great wisdom — the recognition that all is 
ruled and ordered by the will of the immortal gods — it is 
here that we have surpassed all tribes and peoples. 

Quanta patimur (32) : How great are our sufferings ! 

Qui de contenmendU, etc. (219) : Those who write books ' On 
the duty of despising Glory ' allow their names to appear 
on the title-page. 

Qui festinat (147) : He that maketh haste to be rich shall not 
be innocent. 

Qui fijiem vitce, etc. (6) : [A mind] that reckons the close of 
life one of Nature's boons. 

Qui fortiter emungit (225) : ' The wringing of the nose bringeth 
forth blood.' 

Respondes, altera, etc. (104): You reply — with one eyebrow 
lifted to your forehead and the other drawn down to your 
chin — that you are no lover of cruelty. 

Salus populi (229) : The welfare of the people is the supreme 

law. 
Satis magnum (37) : We are, one to another, a theatre (or 

spectacle) ample enough. 
Secundum genera (87), by classes. 
Se non diversas (94) : He said he did not cherish divided hopes, 

but looked simply to the Emperor's safety. 
Serpens nisi serpenfem (167) : A serpent unless it has eaten a 

serpent does not become a dragon. 
Siete Partidas {•2'2'2), ' Seven Parts ' (the title of a Digest of the 

laws of Spain). 



252 INDEX OF QUOTATIONS. 

Si vixero (63) : If I live, the Roman Empire will have no 
further need of soldiers. 

Solus iinperantium (43) : Vespasian, alone among the em- 
perors, was changed for the better [by empire]. 

Solvam cingida regum (56) : I will loose the girdles of kings. 

Sospetto licefitia fede (138) : Suspicion releases faith (from all 
obligation). 

Species virtutibiis similes (216), appearances resembling virtues. 

Spret^ C07iscientici (216) : in disdain of the other's conscious- 
ness (of imperfection). 

Sui at}iantes (98) : lovers of themselves without a rival. 

Sunt plermnque (76) : The desires of princes are commonly 
vehement and contradictory one to another. 

Sylla nescivit (62-3) : Sylla was ignorant of letters, he could 
not ' dictate.' 

Tanquam umis (212), as one of us (Genesis iii. 22). 

Tantum relUgio (13) : To so great wrongs could religion 
prompt. 

Telam honoris crassiorem (232), honour of a tougher web. 

Terra potens (124) : A land powerful in arms and in a fertile 
soil. 

Testamenta et orbos (150) : Childless men and their bequests 
were captured as in a net. 

Tu quoque Galba (152) : Thou also, Galba, shalt taste of em- 
pire. 

Ubi peccat, etc. (i8i) : Where she errs in the one, she runs a 

risk in the other. 
Ultima priviis cedebant (179) : The last of him was not equal 

to the first. 
Ut puto Deusfio (6) : Meseems I am becoming a God. 

Vena porta (80, 171), the ' gate-vein ' which distributes blood 
to the liver. 

Venient annis (152) : In later ages there shall come a time, 
when Ocean shall loose the bands of things, and the vast 
earth shall lie open, and a Typhis shall disclose new 
worlds, nor shall Thule be the farthest land. 



INDEX OF QUOTATIONS. 253 

Ver perpetutan (192), a perpetual Spring. 

Versatile 'mgenium (168), versatility. 

Vetulam suam (27) : He preferred his old wife to immortality 

\i.e., Penelope to Calypso]. 
Vinum Dcsinonum (2), wine of devils. 



GLOSSARY. 



Abroad, put, laid open, spread out, 112. 

Abridgement, epitome, 131. 

Absurd, unreasonable, 21, 105, 201. Cf. absurdly, 177. 

Abuses, deceptions, 206. Abusefh, deceives, misleads, 177. So 

abuswg, 96, 
Actor, a speaker, 102. 

Aculeate, furnished with a sting, pointed, incisive, 233. 
Adamant, a magnet or lodestone, 73. 

Admittance , by, by admission, as if granted or allowed, 104. 
Adust, burnt up, dried up with heat (see Choler), 156. 
Adva7icements, gifts, bequests, 151. 

Adventures, ventures, risky enterprises, 150. See also Charge. 
Advised, deliberate, cautious, circumspect, 74, 224. 
Advoutresses, adulteresses, 78. 
Mqumoctla, equinoxes, 53. 
Affect, to desire, aim at, aspire to, i, 29, 47, 94, 22T ; to like, be 

fond of, 164, 201. 
Affection, liking, inclination, 25. 

After, afterwards, e.g. 241. After as, according as, 164. 
Allay, alloy, 4. 
Alley = bowling-alley, 91. 
Allow, to approve, 71, 105,215. 
Alniaigne, Germany, 239. 
Almost, for the most part, 179. 
Ambassage, embassy, 122. (Cf. embassages.) 
Amiable, worthy of luve, lovable, 180. 
And it were, 97, and it bee, 169 ; here and — if. 
Answered some small Matter, paid some small sum, 175. 
Afiticamera, antechamber, 188. 
Antimasque, a coinic or burlesque interlude between the acts 

of a masque, 161. 
Antiques, ' antics,' buffoons, burlesque performers, 161. 
Apparent, plainly visible, manifest, 167. 
Appetite, in, eager for advancement, 201. 

254 



GLOSSARY. 255 

Apply, suit, adapt, 139 ; apply oneself to, adapt or accommodate 
oneself to, study, 25, 214. 

Apposed of, questioned about, 93. 

Apprehendeth, intends, means, 203. 

Apricockes, apricots, 191. 

Arbitrement, arbitration, 10. 

Argument, subject or theme for consideration, 120. 

Arietations, assaults with the aries or battering-ram, 241. 

Artijiciall, artful, skilful, 61. 

As often = that ; e.g., so as ~ so that, 27, 39 ; that . . as = 
such . . that, 19, 144 ; also ' it is the Nature . . As they 
will set,' 97 ; ' to provide, as if,' 137. 

Aspects, the appearance of the planets in regard to their posi- 
tion among the heavenly bodies at a given time ; taken 
here to mean their ' gaze ' or look upon the earth, 28. 

Assured, sure, certain, 43, 57 ; trusty, 63. 

Aversation, aversion, 105. 

Avoidances, {Jine) , (skilfully contrived) channels or outlets by 
which the water may run off, 189. 

Baboottes, grotesque figures, 161. 

Band, bond, 7, 55. 

Barriers, tilting within barriers or lists, 161. 

Batiailes, battalions, bodies of troops, 241. 

Baugh, said to mean the Bass Rock, 154. 

Be are it, carry their point, bear the matter out, 104. 

Beare-berries, barberries, 198 (= Berberies, 191). 

Beat over, to : perhaps a metaphor from the hunt, 210. 

Beautified, adorned, was an adornment of, 3. 

Because, to the end that, in order that, 26, loi, 147. 

Become, where to, where to get oneself, 187. 

Beholding, beholden, indebted, 36, 219. 

Bent, bent-grass, reed-grass, 192. 

Bever, the beaver or front piece of a helmet, 153. 

Births, offspring, 99. 

Blackes, black garments of mourning, 5. 

Blanch, flatter, 87 ; slip away from, shirk, pass over, 104. 

Blew, Blewe, blue, 190. 

Blushing, i.e., such as to cause a blush, 116. 

Boxe, the ' bank ' in a game of hazard, 171. 



256 GLOSSARY. 

Brave, to make a bold show or parade of, 61 ; braves, defies, 
makes light of, 37. 

Bravery, ostentation, bravado, 41, 61, 102, 218; a piece of 
boastfulness, 230; shovviness, splendour, 161; upon Bra- 
very, out of bravado, 159, 

Breaketh, subdues, subjects, trains, 214. 

Broake, do business, negotiate, 149. 

Broken miisickc, probably = concerted music, music written in 
parts for several instruments, 159. 

Bruit, noise, clamour, 218. 

Buckling towards, girding oneself to encounter, going to meet, 
90. 

BulUses, bullaces, 192. 

Bourses, Exchanges, ' Bourses^ 72. 

Can {to) , to be able, 40. 

Canvasses, intrigues, 90. 

Card, chart, 72, 120. 

Care not {to Imiovate), are not careful (about innovating), 177. 

Cast it, contrive, 187. CastetJi them, makes them incline on 
one side or other, 212. 

Castoreum, a medicine obtained from the beaver, 107. 

Cat in the Pafi, The Turni??g of the : ? reversing the order of 
things so dexterously as to make them appear the oppo- 
site of what they really are {New English Dict.),<)/[. 

Catchpole, a sheriff's officer, bailiff, 217. Hence is evolved the 
phrase Catching and Poling — snatching and plundering 
(see Politig) , 228. 

Cauterized, seared (in conscience: see i Tim. iv. 2), 66. 

Censure, judgment, expression of opinion, 119. 

Certainty, trustworthiness, 19. 

Certijic, send information, 142. 

Cessions, concessions, yielding to another's judgment, 220. 

Challenge, claim, 202. 

Cha77iairis, a dwarf iris, 190. 

Chapmen, purchasers, customers, 149. 

Charge and Adventure, upon = involving expense and risk, 219. 

Chargeable, costly, 130. 

Checke with, clash with, interfere with, 38, 136. 

Choice, with, i.e., with discrimination, 49. 



GLOSSARY. 257 

Choler, bile, one of the four ' humours,' supposed to cause 
irascibility of temper : choler adust, ' black bile,' another 
of the humours, the cause of melancholy (here recognised 
as a morbid condition of the bile), 156. 

C/zop with, to bandy words with, 228. 

Chopping, exchanging, buying and selling again, 149. 

Circumstance, attendant ceremony, the accompaniments of an 
action, 221; Circtitnstances, roundabout details, circum- 
locution, 141. 

Civil, orderly, cultivating the arts of peace, 69; orderly, decor- 
ous, seemly, 203 ; civill Shrift, lay confession (opposed to 
' religious '), 107. 

Civility, civilization, 190. 

Clatnotir, disturb with clamour, 88. 

Close, secret, concealed, 42, 225. 

Clove Gilly-fiower, the clove pink, 193. 

Coemptio7i, the buying up of the entire supply of any com- 
modity in the market, 150. 

Collect, infer, 155. 

Collegiate, united as in a college or corporate body, 166. 

Colour, to give their own name to (other men's money), t.e. to 
lend it out on usury under their own name, 175. 

Comelines, propriety, seemliness, 116. 

Coynely, becoming, seemly, 220. 

Comforteth, strengthens, confirms, 167. 

Commiserable, deserving pity or commiseration, 146. 

Commoditie, advantage, 171-3, 184. 

Communicate, shared {with), 49, 

Complonents, compliments, polite forms, 214, 215. 

Coficeit, imagination, 146. Conceits, thoughts, ideas, 22. 

Concurrence, coincidence or agreement as to dates, 236. 

Conference, talk, discourse, 187, 209; so Conferre, 209. 

Confidence of, confident belief in, 67; hath Confidence with, is 
trusted by, 62. 

Conscience, consciousness, 40. 

Constrtictioft, interpretation, 233. 

Containe, hold in, hold together, 126; confine, restrict {within) 
7, 127; restrain {from), 232. 

Contend, strive, endeavour, 222. 

Content much, give much pleasure, 139. 



258 GLOSSARY. 

Conversation, way of life, 106 ; intercourse, 107, Converse in, 
are engaged in or occupied with, 164 ; cf. conversant in, 87. 

Convince, refute, 64. 

Copulate, united, linked together, 166. 

Cor 7ielian- Tree, the cornel-tree, cornelian cherry, 190; Cor- 
nelians, the fruit of this tree, 191. 

Correspondence {good), comparison, proportion, corresponding 
position, 63. With Correspondence to, so as to meet the 
views or wishes of, 210. 

Corroborate, strengthened, reinforced, 165. 

Country Mariners, his, i.e., the manners of his own country, 74. 

Crocus Vernus, spring crocus, 190. 

Crosnesse, disposition to be contrary, perverseness, 49. 

Crosse Clauses, contrary clauses, 10. 

Curiosity, elaborate workmanship or design, 196; Curiosities, 
nice points, subtleties, 29. 

Curious, minutely inquiring, 29 ; over-careful or scrupulous, 
215 ; over-elaborate, over-subtle, 102, 104 ; occult, magical 
(arts), 153. Curiously, with minute attention, 209. 

Currantly, with ready flow, 136. 

Damfnasin, damson, 191. 

Daubed, loaded with tasteless ornament, 159. 

Decay, cause of destruction, 'ruin,' 158. 

Deceivable, apt to deceive, deceptive, 181. 

Deceive, cheat, defraud {i.e., of nourishment), 198. 

Decent, fit, seemly, graceful, 180, 188, 199. 

Declination, decline, decay, 94, 128. 

Decline, turn aside, avert, 169. 

Deduced, brought before a tribunal, 229. 

Deliveries, fine, ingenious methods of getting out of, or get- 
ting rid of (danger), 76. Deliveries of a Mans Selfe, per- 
haps = ways of bringing out or giving effect to what is in 
him. 

Denying, refusing, 206. So Deniall, refusal, 207. 

Dependances, dependencies, prerogatives, 85 ; body of depend- 
ants, clientele, 158. 

Depraving, slandering, 206. 

Derive, draw aside, divert the course of, 34. 

Desart, a ' wilderness," 193. 



GLOSSARY. 259 

Destitute, desert, leave destitute, 146. 

Device, the plot or general arrangement of a stage perform- 
ance or show; a tableau, 159, 161. 

Device, point : see Point. 

Diet, take his meals, 73. 

Dijfficilnesse, the character of one who is difficult to deal with, 
49. 

Direction, wits of, intellects capable of directing or deciding 
affairs, 96. 

Disabling, disparaging, depreciating, 206. 

Discerne . . . from, distinguish from, 159. 

Discharge itselfe, free itself from the charge, clear itself, 138. 

Discoloured, bereft of colour, pale, 5. 

Disco7nmoditie, disadvantage, 171, 173, 184. 

Discoursiyig, discursive, passing lightly from one thought to 
another, i. 

Discover, make known or manifest, disclose, reveal, 18, 204. 

Discoverie, revelation, disclosure, 21, 171, 206. 

Dispenseth with, excuses, condones, 157. 

Distasted, disgusted, 206. So Distastes, annoyances, 17. 

Ditty, the words of a song, 160. 

Divers, diverse, different, 9. Cf. diver sly, 123. 

Donative, giving, bestowing, 146; a gift, present, 63, 81, 132. 

Doubt, to fear, suspect, think likely, 92, 117, 237. 

Drie, hard, severe ; drie blow, a. smart hit, 140. 

Drinesse, condition of being dried up, failure, 174. 

Ecce7itricks, circles or orbits not having the earth exactly at 

their centre, 69. 
Edge, stimulate, ' egg on,' 174. 
Ejaculation, a darting forth, emission of rays, 29. 
Election, choice, discrimination, 181, 204. 
Embaseth, makes base, 4, (Cf. imbaseth.) 
Embassages, embassies, 217. (Cf. ainbassage.) 
Enforme, inform, 88. 

Engines, contrivances, ' machinery,' 69; machines, 165. 
Entend, intend, 194. 
Enterchange, interchange, 76, 135. 
Enterlace, interlace, insert parenthetically, 218. 
Entertai7iment, something to occupy men's thoughts, 205. 



260 GLOSSARY. 

Epicure, Epicurean, follower of Epicurus, 13. 

Epicycle, a little circle, whose centre describes a greater circle 
{eccentric^ about the earth ; each of the planets was sup- 
posed to move in such a small circle, 69. 

Equalitle of Bores, ? pipes of equal bore, 197. 

Equipollent, equal in power, equivalent, 165. 

Espials, spies, 203. (Cf. spialls.) 

Estate, a State, government, 35, 51, 118; so Matters of Estate 
(= State affairs), 87, 230; discourse of Estate, 92 ; His 
owne Estate, his own affairs, 29 ; Estates of Men = orders, 
professions, 203. 

Estivation, passing the summer. Place of Estivation = a sum- 
mer retreat, 188. 

Eugh, yew, 190. 

Exaltation, in his,m the region where its influence is strongest 
(a term of astrology), 167. 

Excusations, excuses, making excuses, 102, 220. 

Exhaust, exhausted, 27, 242. 

Expect, wait for, 148. 

Experience, trial, experiment : zvould be put in experience = 
ought to be tried, 144. 

Expert Men, men who have been trained h^y experience or 
practice, 208. 

Externe, external, outside, 178. 

Facile, easily wrought upon or ' got at,' 27. Facilitie, undue 

readiness to please, give way to, or be swayed by others, 

42, 43, 214. 
Facts, deeds, acts, 14. 

Fained, feigned {i.e., ' fancy prices'), 146; so fainedly, 106. 
Faire, in parenthesis = just, simply : i.e. ' will e'en let him go 

on,' 22. 
Falls, ? incidents, incidental passages (of affairs) ; or perhaps, 

issues, conclusions, 95. 
Fame, rumour, report, 54, 242-44; reputation, 23, 218-19. 
Fascets, facets, 222. 

Fast, tenacious, retentive (' of their Smels'), 192. 
Fast upon, close upon, 52. 
Favour, features, expression of the countenance, 114, 179. 

Evill favoured, ill-looking, ' ugly,' 164. 



GLOSSARY. 261 

Feare/ull, timid, 120, 158. Fear/ul/iesse, timidity, 22. 

Fetching, reaching, striking, 241. 

Fift, fifth. Fift Essence = quintessence, the immutable essence 

of which the heavenly bodies are formed, 64. 
Figure, in, i.e., so as to form a pattern, as a complete picture, 

112. 
Flash, for a, for a moment, 128. 
Flashy, insipid, ' fiat,' 209. 
Flos Africarms, a kind of marigold, 191. 
Flower, flour, 143. 

Flower-Delices, irises {Jleiirs-de-lis) , 191. 
Fly, fly at (with a hawk), 243. 
Foot, under : see Under. 
Foot-pace, a raised floor or platform (on which the bench is 

set) , 228. 
Foreseene, provided, 59. 

Forwardnesse, in, making progress, 146, 207. 
Frame, out of, disordered, out of gear, 56. 
Frettellaria, fritillary, 190. 
Friarly, friar-like, 147. 
Fume, empty fancy, 236, 
Futile, incontinent of speech, talkative, 20, 84. 



Galliard, an old French dance of a spirited character, 140. 

Gallo-Grecia, Galatia, 238. 

Gauderie, showy display, 132, 

Gingles, jingles, rattles, 145. 

Ginnitings, jennetings (a kind of early apple), 191. 

Given over, given up, abandoned, 221, 236. 

Globe, a compact body of things clustered together, 41. 

Glorious, ostentatious, vain-glorious, 151, 203, 218, 219. 

Glory, vain-glory, 220, 227 ; fine show, 160. 

Goeth away with it, wins the advantage, comes off the winner, 

212. 
Gracing, complimenting, 227. 
Gracious, acceptable to others, deserving their thanks, 206, 

220. 
Great Yeare, Plato's, a great cycle of years, at the end of which 

the celestial bodies would be found to have returned to 



262 GLOSSARY, 

the positions they were in at the beginning of the cycle, 

235. 
Grotta, grotto, 188. 
Ground, settled rule, 182, 
Growing Silke, vegetable silk, ' grass silk,' 144. 

Haberdashers, retail dealers or vendors, 91. 

Habilitation, qualification, a making apt or able, 127, 128, 

Halfe Peece : i.e., like a silver penny cut in halves, to supply 
the want of a minted half-penny, no. 

Hand, at a deare, at a dear rate, loi. 0/ even hand, at an 
even balance (of accounts), 117, To cotne at even hand, 
to come to an equality, to be even (with another), 29. 

Healths, i.e., the drinking of healths or toasts (which, in Ba- 
con's time, meant deep drinking, 73. (Cf. 162.) 

Heath, a ' wilderness,' 195, 197. 

Height, Heighth, height, 52, 108. 

Herba Muscaria, Muscari, a genus of plants allied to the hya- 
cinth, 191. 

Herselike, hearse-like, funereal, 17. 

Hiacynthus Orientalis, the ordinary cultivated hyacinth, 190. 

Hollyokes, hollyhocks, 192. 

Holpen, helped, 85, 119. 

Hooded, having the head covered up so that they cannot see 
(a term of falconry), 71. 

Hortatives, exhortations, 27. 

Humorous, guided by one's own ' humour,' full of odd ' hu- 
mours ' or fancies, 26. 

Imbaseth, degrades, 39. (Cf. embaseth.) 

Imbosments, embossments, projections, 196. 

Impertinency, irrelevance, 227. Impertinent, irrelevant, 104. 

Importeth, is of importance, 9, 121, 127. 

Importune, importunate, 35, 202. 

Impostu?natiofts, impostumes, abscesses, 61. 

Impression, of the last, bearing the mark of what they have been 

last impressed by, 204. 
hnpropriate, appropriate, 133. 
Inbowed Windowes, bow-windows, 187. 
Incensed, burnt (as incense), 18. 



GLOSSARY. 263 

Incommodities, disadvantages, drawbacks, 171, 

Incurreth . . mto the note, comes under the observation (of 

others), 31. 
Indifferetit, impartial, 21, 51, 87. 
Industriously, purposely, 20. 
Infanied, made infamous, 78. 

Information, make a?i, make something known, bring some- 
thing to the notice of others, 205. 
Ingaged {with), bound, stuck fast in, 166. 
Ingrossing, engrossing, monopolising ; buying up goods 

wholesale in order to secure a monopoly and raise 

prices, 33, 60. 
Inordinate, ungoverned (in one's passions), 36. 
Intend, devote oneself to, give earnest attention to, 128 ; so 

Intention (same passage). 
Interessed, interested, 14. 
Interest, at, i.e., on terms for which they would have to pay 

heavily later on, 'j'] . 
Inter loaition, speaking turn and turn about with others, 141. 
Intervenient , intervening, 229. 
Imire, to train, habituate, 158, 
Inward, intimate, confidential, 42, 85. Inward Beggar, i.e., a 

secret bankrupt, concealing his poverty, 105. 

Jade, to over-drive, 139. 

jfust (cure), i.e., proper, exact, 58, 

yusts, jousts, tilting with the lance, 161. 

Kinde, in that, in that way, 20, 174. 

Knap, hillock, knoll, 183. 

Knee Tiinber, timber that is bent or grown crooked, 50. 

Knots, garden beds, plots, 194. 

Laudatives, eulogies, 132. 

Leese, lose, 80, 120, 136, 141. 

Legend, the Golden Legend {Legenda aured), or collection of 

Lives of the Saints, compiled in the thirteenth century by 

Jacobus de Voragine (64). 
Lelacke, lilac, 191. 
Letting, for, for fear of hindering or obstructing, 195. 



264 GLOSSARY. 

Light well, fall to a worthy possessor, 180. 

Lightly, usually, 212. 

Like, likely, 93 (and elsewhere). 

Lilium Convallium, lily of the valley, 191. 

Limitted, determined, measured, 117. 

Lively, livelily, vividly, 17. 

Loading Part, on the, on the side which adds to the load or 

weight (and so aggravating the misfortune), 49, 
Look : used to call attention or give emphasis to the statement 

that follows ; e.g., 216, 240. 
Loose, lose, 39, 229. 
Looses {in the Conclusion), ways out of difficult or 'tight' 

places, 96. 
Lot, the spell cast by witchcraft or sorcery, 34. 
Lurcheth, swallows up, absorbs, 184. 

Maine, the body of a thing, the chief or principal part 
(? = main stream), 95. 

Mainly, strongly, greatly, 56, 148. 

Maintaine, support, back, 109 ; so maintained, 67. 

Make for, to be conducive to, i, 130 ; for whom it 7naketh, for 
whose advantage it is, 65. 

Mannage, management, 177. 

Mannaged, well, properly broken and trained (in the manage), 
well in hand, 19. 

Manure, to till or cultivate, 143. 

Many times, often, in many cases, 24, 98, 180. 

Maris h, marshy, 145. 

Masteries, superiority, superior strength, 136; to try Masteries 
with, to contend with for victory, to measure one's strength 
against, 76, 

Mate, to overpower, 5, 57. 

Matenall, occupied exclusively with the matter in hand {i.e., 
dealing nakedly and abruptly with the real matter, with- 
out 'circumstance ' or circumlocution), 102. 

Matted Pinck, a small creeping pink, used for borders, 193. 

Matter, the : (we now omit the definite article), 3, 234. 

Matter, upon the, all things considered, on the whole, 182. 

May, ? the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth, 154. 

Meane, means (to an end), 76, 205, 206; an agent or go- 



GLOSSARY. 265 

between, 207 (' in the choice of his Meane '). In a Meane, 
i.e., in moderate terms or language, 17. 

Meerely, absolutely, entirely, 10, 131, 234. 

Meere Stone, a boundary stone, 224. 

Meeteth with, it, answers it, hits the point, 106. 

Melo-Cotones, a large kind of peach, 191, 

Mercury Rod, the caduceus, borne by Mercury when he con- 
ducts the shades of the dead to Hades, 14. 

Mew, to moult, 122. 

Mezerion Tree, the Mezereon, a shrub with very fragrant 
flowers, 190. 

Middest, in the, in the midst, 24, 185. 

Mllitar, military, 219. 

Militia, an army, soldiery, 122, 126. 

Modell, the plan of a work, the scale on which it is made or 
done, 10, 185, 199; little tnodel, a frame or plan in little^ 

133. 
Moderator, one who presides at and directs a debate, and 

gives a summing-up and decision upon it, 102. So Mod- 
erate, to act as a moderator, 138. 
Momus, in the fable, found fault with a house for not being 

built on wheels, so that its occupant might get away from 

bad neighbours, 183. 
Morris daunce, a dance of mummers on May-day, 9. 
Mought, might, 61 (and elsewhere). 
Muniting, fortifying, 12. 
Mystery, secret or hidden meaning, 17. Mysteries are due to 

Secrecy : i.e., the man who can keep silence is the right 

person to impart mysteries to (20). 

Naught, bad, deserving condemnation or contempt, 149, 215. 

Neastllng, nestling-place, 199. 

Nephews, grandsons, no. 

Newell, the central column of a winding staircase ; where the 
steps are pinned into the wall and there is no central pillar, 
the staircase is said to have an open newel (186). 

Nice, scrupulous, 'particular,' 125; over-delicate in style, 
(' finikin'), 160. 

Nicenesse, fastidiousness, 6. 

Note, notice, 32 ; something notified, information, 206. 



266 GLOSSARY. 



Nothing to, i.e., contributing nothing to, 197 (cf. the end of the 

essay). 
Nourish little, receive little nourishment, 80. 



Obnoxious, exposed, liable, or subject {to), 86, 158; submis- 
sive, 182. 

Obtaine, attain {to'), 19 ; obtaineth, prevails, wins its cause, 227. 

Odds, eminent, marked advantage or superiorily, 203. 

Oes, small round discs or 'spangles ' (like the letter O), 160. 

Of long, for long, 226. 

Officious, forward to do offices, ready to serve, 182, 203, 

Opinion, reputation, credit, 105, 218-19; to have Opennesse in 
Fame and Opinion, i.e., to have a reputation for frankness, 
23; Opinion of the Touch of a Mans Reputation, i.e., 
the thought or belief that one's reputation is touched or 
attacked, 232. 

Orbs, spheres, 56 ; orbits, 69. 

Overcome, becorr^e master of, make one's own, 148. 

Over-speaking, addicted to over-much speaking, 226. 

Paires, impairs, 100. 

Palme, a hand's-breadth, 77. 

Pardon, by, by making allowances, 180. 

Particular, partial, 234. {In his own) particular = particular 

case or affairs, 61. 
Pasport, leave of departure, 138. 
Passable, of tolerable ability, 204; Passable with, acceptable to, 

211. 
Passages, ? the connecting portions of a speech, serving for 

transition from one topic to another, 102. 
Pauls, St. Paul's Cathedral or ' Paul's Walk,' used as a general 

promenade and place of resort in Bacon's time, 95. 
Pawnes, pledges, 172. 

Perfect in, skilled or accomplished in, 91, 215. 
Perish, cause to perish, injure, no. 

Personate, to represent as a person and assign a part to, 13. 
Philology, the learning or literature of a subject, 242. 
Pi?ie- Apple- Trees, pine-trees, 190. 
Piony, peony, 191. 



glossAjRY. 267 

Place, precedency, 73 ; a topic, 243. To take little Place, i.e., 
to have but small weight or effect, 206. 

Placebo : see Index of Phrases. 

Piaie-pleasure , the pleasure felt in witnessing a play or drama, 
29. 

Plant, to colonize. Plantation, a colony, colonizing, 141-145. 

Platforme, plan, 199. 

Plausible, praiseworthy, deserving applause, 35, 54. 

Pleasing, complaisant, 136. 

Plie, a bend (given to the mind: cf. pliant }ust before), 166, 

Point, a subject or matter (defined by what follows) : thus. 
Point of Estate = the State, something that concerns the 
State, 230 ; from the Point of Contempt, i.e., from anything 
connected with contempt, 233. 

Point, to appoint, 186, 241. 

Point Device, fashioned or adjusted with extreme precision 
and neatness, 215. 

Poler, one who exacts money, 229. 

Poling, plundering, exacting fees, 228. 

Politique, Politicke, political, employed by the State, 32, 90; 
Politique Ministers, i.e.. Ministers of State, 129. 

Politiques, Politickes, politicians, statesmen, 9, 18, 50; the 
Politiques, the science of politics or statecraft, 243. 

Poll, a 'head' or unit of population; the hundred (= hun- 
dredth) poll, i.e., one man in a hundred, 124. 

Popular, courting the favour of the people, 63 ; so Popularitie, 
203. 

Poser, an examiner or questioner in the Schools, 139. 

Practize, Practise, plotting, machination, crafty dealing, 12, 91, 
149, 201. 

Praying in Aid of Alchymists, calling in Alchemists to help the 
case, III. 

Preheininences, preeminences, 33. 

Pre-occupateth, anticipates, 6. 

Prescription, right or title acquired by continued use or pos- 
session, 201. 

Present, a formal message or injunction, 128. 

Presently, straightway, immediately, 114, 172. 

President, precedent, 41, 99, 229. 

Presseth, depresses, 52. 



268 GLOSSARY. 

Prest, prompt, 129. 

Pretendeth, makes a pretext of, 100 ; cf. 129, ' as may be pre- 
tended.' 

Prevent, anticipate, 226. 

Prickt, planted, 198 ; so perhaps prick in, 74. 

Primum Mobile : see Index of Phrases. 

Principiall, initial, 153. 

Private, for his owne, i.e., private benefit, 143. 

Proofe, the result of trial or experience : the Proofe is best = it 
is found to turn out best, 24. 

Proper (of words) , having a personal application, 233. 

Propriety, special character, 8. 

Prospectives, ' perspective glasses ; ' an optical contrivance of 
the stereoscope kind, 103. 

Proyning, cultivating, pruning, 208. 

Purchase, to obtain, acquire, 15, 221 ; a New Purchase, a new 
acquisition, 212. 

Pure, free (of inhabitants), unoccupied, 141, 

Purpose, of, intentionally, purposely, 33. 

Purprise, enclosure, enclosed area, 228. 

Push, pustule, blister, 217. 

Pusle, puzzle, distraction, 40. Pusleth, puzzles, 22. 

Put you 171 ivay for, put you in the way of, 115. 

Pythonissa, a woman possessed with a spirit of divination, 151. 

Quadlins, codlins, 191. 

Quarrell, reason, plea, 28 ; cf. Grounds and Quarclls, 129. 

Quarter, keepe, keep its proper place, 38 ; kept good Quarter 

betweene themselves, kept on friendly terms, 93. 
Que clung — either (i) flinching or (2) crying out, 166. 

Race, onward course or progress, 231. 

Raspes, raspberries, 191. 

Ravisheth, carries away violently or hastily, 69. 

Reason {it is, it were), reasonable, 26, 39, 52. Much like is the 

Reasott of= their case is much the same, 182. 
Recamera, inner chamber, back chamber, 188. 
Receipt, receptacle, 196. 
Reciprogue, reciprocal ; the Reciproque — reciprocal affection, 

37. 



GLOSSARY. 269 

Reduced, brought within a limited (and so more profitable) 
range of subjects, 242. 

Referendaries, referees, 205. 

Regard, upon, i.e., out of personal regard, 214. In regard, 
because, 124. 

RegwieJit, regimen. Essay xxx. 

Reiglement, regulation, 173. 

Relate himselfe, tell his thoughts, 112. 

Remover, one who is always moving about or stirring, 169. 

Reparation of a Deiiiall : the gaining of one's suit, on a second 
urging, after it has been once refused, 207. 

Reputed of, well, having a good reputation, 63. 

Resemblance, comparison, likening, 229; resembled, likened, 
compared, 83. 

Resorts, ? springs, starting-points, sources ; or = the springs or 
movements (of machinery) ; this phrase. Resorts and Falls 
of Busi?tesse, still awaits explanation (95). 

Respect, have regard to, 135. Respected, attended to, 24. Re- 
spects, regard for persons, personal considerations, punc- 
tilious observances, 43, 51, 215; Essay lii (title), ht 
respect, in case, 117. 

Rest, setup their, staked everything (upon an issue). 131. 

Returnes, wings or side-buildings built out at the back of a 
house, 185, 188. 

Ribes, currants, 191, 

Rid, despatch, get done, 127. 

Rise {though it be of the best), i.e., come from the best source, 
150. 

Route, roll, 158. 

Round ((f^a//«^), straightforward, direct, 4; spoile the Feathers 
ofroundfiyijig, i.e., prevent their flying direct to the mark, 22. 

Saciety, Sacietie, satiety, 6, 214. 
Sad, sober, 243 ; of sober hue, 18. 
Sarza, sarsaparilla, 107. 
Satyrian, a species of orchis, 191. 
Scantling, measure, limit, 223. 
Scope, aim, object aimed at, 128. 

Season, tn, in their happy time, at the time when they come out 
strongest, 49. 



2/0 GLOSSARY. 

Secretted, kept secret, 19. 

Secure, without care, at ease, 57. Security, serene freedom 
from care, sense of safety, 16. 

Seeke for, to, at a loss for, 173. 

Seel'd, having the eyelids sewn up (a term of falconry), 157. 

Settlings, panellings, wainscotings, 220. 

Sentence, judgment, opinion, 234. 

Severall, separate, distinct, different, 19, 81, 210. 

Sharings, partnerships, 149. 

Shrewd, mischievous, hurtful, 96. 

Shut it selfe out to take, debar itself from taking, 174. 

Side {o7ieself), to take a side, adhere to one party, 43, 212. 

Slight It over, dismiss it slightly, slur it over, 46. 

Slop*, sloping, 194. 

Slugge, drag, hindrance to motion, 172. 

Smother, passe in, be smothered or stifled, 112; cf. keep in 
Smother, 137. 

Softly, with slow or gentle movement, 19, 56, 

Solcecisme, a gross error or blunder, 76. 

Sort with, agree or harmonize with, match, suit, 18, 116, 164; 
associate or consort with, 24 ; sortetk to, turns to, results 
in, 24, 107; it sorted with them, things turned out in their 
case, they fared (accordingly) , 126. 

Spaces, intervals, 164. 

Spangs, spangles, 160. 

Speculative into, disposed to pry into, 86. 

Spialls, spies, 182. (Cf. espials.) 

Spirits, good, i.e., men of good or noble spirit, 6. 

Staddles, young trees left standing in a copse when other trees 
and underwood are cut down, 123. 

Stages, the ' theatre ' of wars, 238. 

State, an estate, 118, 150; government, statecraft, 134; govern- 
ment, governing body, 229 ; a rank or order of persons, 
79. 124. 

Statua, statue, 112; pi. Statua's, 161. 

Stay, at a, at rest, 234; stand at a stay, stand still, 46, 53, 75. 

Steale it, do it stealthily, act by stealth, 42. 

Sticke, hesitate, scruple, 224. 

Stirps, stocks, families, 51. 

Stand, impediment, stoppage, 168, 209. 



GLOSSARY. 



271 



Stood upon, insisted upon, 128. 

Stooved, stoved, i.e., kept in a hothouse, 190. 

Store, a good quantity, 145. 

Successe, result, issue, 200, 206. 

Sufficiencte, ability, 43, 203. Sufficient, able, 215. 

Suspect, suspicious, 212; a Suspect, an object for suspicion, 

100, 216. 
Sustentation, sustenance, 240. 
Stite, ' suite,' sequence, 236. 

Take {the Sense), charm (the feelings or judgment), 160. 
Take in zoith = take up with, join, 212. Take with, take, 
admit, employ, 204, Take a Fall, suffer a defeat, 22. 

Tarrasses, terraces, 189. 

Taxing, censuring, finding fault with, 41, 

Temperature, temperament, 23. 

Tendering, treating with care, nursing, 135, 

Termes, upon, i.e., on terms of formality, 116. 

Then, than {passim). 

Thoroiv, through, 17 ; so Thorow Lights, 187. 

Touch, Speech of, speech that has a direct personal reference 
(and ' comes home to a man '), 141. (See also s.v. Opin- 
ion^ 

Tourneys, tournaments, 161. 

Tozvardnesse, docility (the opposite oi frowardjiess) , 79, 

Toy, a trifle, a thing of no serious importance, 75, 159, 161, 
236. 

Tract {ofyeares), length, 178. Tracts of his Countenance, fea- 
tures, play of features, 21. 

Transcendences, imaginative flights, 17. 

Trash, a contemptuous term for money, worldly goods, 50. 

Travalle, labour, 127 ; but in Essay xviii = travel. Travels, 
labours, 32. 

Treaties, treatises, 9. 

Trench to, trench on, touch, 230. 

Tribunitious, like a tribune or demagogue, clamorous, 88. 

Triufnphs, shows or displays of some magnificence, 2, 185, and 
Essay xxxvii. 

Troth, truth, 22. 

Tulippa, tulip, 191. 



2/2 



GLOSSARY. 



Turquets, ? Turkish dwarfs, i6i. 

Under Foot : below the real value, 172. 

Undertake, to take up (an affair), take in hand, 205; so 

Undertakers, 144. 
Unsecreting, divulging, 85. 
Uphold, make up for (losses), 150. 
Upon {the Forrainer), at the expense of, 59. 
Upon Speed, with speed, 148. 

Ure, out of, out of practice, 22. Iron Ure, iron ore, 143. 
Use, usury, interest, 172. 

Vaine, 'vein,' disposition, habit of mind, 139. 

Valew, put a high value on, recommend as men of substance, 

149. 
Vecture, carriage, carrying, 59. 
Vena Porta : see Index of Phrases. 
Ventureth, runs a risk, 181. 
Version, turning, direction, 326. 
Vertue, excellence, the quality of a ' high spirit ' (not limited 

to moral virtue) , 179 ; so Vertuous, of great parts, 52. 
Vindicative, vindictive, 16. 
Voice, give voice to, proclaim, 41, 
Votary {resoliitiofi) , depending upon a vow, 165. 
Vouched, adduced, 9. 
Voycing, giving out, proclaiming, 207. 
Vulgar, common, applicable to many alike, 217. 

Wait upon, watch, observe, dwell upon, 91, 236. 

Wantons, spoilt children, 24. 

Wardens, a kind of pear chiefly used for baking, 191. 

Warme set, planted in a warm situation or aspect ; or, perhaps, 

grown in a hot-bed, 190. 
Way,giveth best, best opens away (to attaining one's object), 

211 ; keepe way with, keep pace with, 168. 
Welts, borders, 195. 

Wether, in, in rough weather, in a storm, 229. 
Winde of him, take the, play up to him, 88. 
Wit, a great, a great intellect, a man of great intellectual 

powers, 182 ; cf. discoursing Wits, i. 



GLOSSARY. 273 

With, a withy, osier twig, 166. 

Witty, ingenious, 10. 

Wood, ill a, in a maze, 158, 

Wo7-ke, work upon, influence, 201. 

Workes, designs, 187. 

Would be, often = should be : e.g., would be brideled, ought to 

be bridled, 139 ; this wozild be done, 91 ; Care would be 

had, 70. 

Zelants, zealots, 9. 



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